Waseda University was founded in 1882 by Shigenobu Okuma, later Prime Minister of Japan, on the three pillars of “independence of learning,” “utilization of knowledge,” and the “creation of good citizenship,” with the overarching aim to cultivate leaders in Japan. Over the years it has stayed true to these founding principles, educating six prime ministers and the heads of major corporations, and countless other business leaders, politicians, journalists, diplomats, scholars, scientists, inventors, actors and writers. Originally a college, Waseda today is a comprehensive research university with thirteen undergraduate and twenty-four graduate schools, multiple centers, institutes, and affiliated institutions, widely acclaimed as one of Japan’s top universities. For all it is and has become, Waseda stays attuned to global trends and tries to remain ahead of change. On the 125th anniversary of its founding in 2007, Waseda issued its “Second Century Declaration” and recommitted itself to creating a world-class institution with a global campus. With a current student body of over 50,000 drawn from across Japan and over 90 countries worldwide, Waseda is creating a new chapter in its history. It has working agreements with over 400 institutions abroad and receives more international students than any other Japanese university. Its own students travel widely for study and its faculty collaborate routinely on international research. Waseda enjoys close ties with Peking University and works with it and other Chinese universities in forging new alliances within Asia. With four other top Japanese universities it has established in Washington D.C. the U.S.-Japan Research Institute, which studies all aspects of relations between their countries and examines policy options. Waseda’s founding commitment to cultivating leaders means to honor tradition while restlessly seeking new ways to think and to act. Such is the Waseda spirit.

　　早稻田大学由后来的日本首相大隈重信于1882年创立，其宗旨是“学习的自主性”、“知识的运用”和“培养良好的公民意识”三大支柱，其总体目标是培养日本的领导者。多年来，它一直忠于这些建国原则，教育了六位总理和大公司的负责人，以及无数其他商界领袖、政治家、记者、外交官、学者、科学家、发明家、演员和作家。早稻田大学最初是一所学院，如今是一所综合性研究型大学，拥有13个本科和24个研究生院，多个中心、研究所和附属机构，被广泛赞誉为日本顶尖大学之一。尽管它现在和现在已经成为，早稻田始终紧跟全球趋势，并努力保持领先于变化。 2007年，早稻田大学在建校125周年之际，发布了“第二世纪宣言”，再次致力于打造一所拥有全球校园的世界级大学。早稻田大学目前有来自日本各地和全球 90 多个国家的 50,000 多名学生，正在开创其历史的新篇章。它与国外的 400 多家机构签订了工作协议，接收的国际学生比任何其他日本大学都多。它自己的学生广泛旅行学习，其教师定期合作进行国际研究。早稻田大学与北京大学有着密切的联系，并与北京大学和其他中国大学合作，在亚洲建立新的联盟。它与其他四所日本顶尖大学一起在华盛顿特区成立了美日研究所，该研究所研究两国关系的各个方面并研究政策选择。早稻田大学对培养领导者的创始承诺意味着尊重传统，同时不断寻求新的思维和行动方式。这就是早稻田精神。