Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (立命館アジア太平洋大学, Ritsumeikan Ajia Taiheiyō Daigaku), or APU, is a private institution inaugurated April 2000 in Beppu, Ōita, Japan. APU was made possible through the collaboration of three parties from the public and private sectors: Ōita Prefecture, Beppu City and the Ritsumeikan Academy. APU has an enrollment of over 6,000 students. Approximately half of the students and faculty members come from overseas. APU is located at Jumonjibaru in the City of Beppu, Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. Beppu is geographically closer to Busan (Korea) than Tokyo (Japan). Ritsumeikan Asian Pacific University is currently one of the top schools in Japan. APU is a member of the greater Ritsumeikan Academy which includes APU, Ritsumeikan University and a number of primary, junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. The Ritsumeikan Charter states that, “Ritsumeikan traces its roots to Prince Saionji's private academy of the same name, established in 1869. It was officially founded in 1900 by his protégé, Kojuro Nakagawa, as the Kyoto Hosei Gakko (Kyoto School of Law and Politics), later to take on the name "Ritsumeikan".