OKU received an award in the Western Japan Public University division of the Japan Ryugaku Awards (Japan Study Abroad Awards) 2017, which selects universities and vocational schools to recommend to international students. The awards were established in order to improve the environment for international students and are voted on by Japanese language school faculty and staff from around the country. Now in its sixth year, the Japan Ryugaku Awards selected 53 schools in its different divisions, with 175 Japanese language schools from around Japan voting. OKU has received awards for three consecutive years since 2015 because of its active recruitment of international students with an easy-to-understand process, its ties with Japanese language schools, the number of passionate professors and the high student satisfaction rate. International Center Professor Yuri Hasegawa attended the award ceremony at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center on August 7 (Mon). Prof. Hasegawa remarked, “It’s an honor to be selected three years in a row. In particular, we are happy to have improved our score on ties with Japanese language schools over the last year.” She added, “We’ve been actively bringing international students into the university by setting a quota for international students and developing international student housing.” Prof. Hasegawa explained that the university aims to be an international student-friendly school with an environment that encourages learning.