Ritsumeikan University is ranked highly among universities in Japan. It has a growing reputation as one of the main private universities of Japan. In an annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to private companies in Japan, The university was ranked in the 1st position in Industry-Academia-Government collaboration activities, for 2 years in a row (2004, 2005), and is continuously working to keep this rank. Ritsumeikan is one of the most internationalized mainstream universities in Japan and it has established exchange programs with hundreds of schools worldwide, including a pioneering exchange with the University of British Columbia. Its name was adapted from a Mencius quotation: Some die young, as some live long lives. This is decided by fate. Therefore, one's duty consists of cultivating one's mind during this mortal span and thereby establishing one's destiny. It literally means "place to establish one's destiny." In Kita-ku, Kyoto. This liberal arts-oriented campus is a roughly five minute-walk from Ryōan-ji and Kinkaku-ji temples. The campus has eight graduate schools, 17,000 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students. In Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto.