A private veterinary school located in Sagamihara, a large suburb in the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area, Azabu University is one of a number of Japanese universities which started in the city, but were forced out by war damage.
Founded as the Tokyo Veterinary Training School in 1890, it took the Azabu name in 1894 and relocated to its present site in 1947, two years after being destroyed in the blitz of May 1945. It opened a graduate school in 1960, became a university in 1980 and, since curriculum reforms in 1984, has offered six-year degrees in veterinary science. It is one of the 16 members of Japan’s National University Veterinary Association Representation Council.
It operates under the motto of "Mankind, Animals and the Environment" with a philosophy of "Explore academically and practice conscientiously". The department of veterinary medicine offers specialisms in basic, pathological, environmental, livestock and clinical veterinary medicine.
There is a close connection with Azabu Teaching hospital, which treats around 20,000 companion animals each year as well as considerable numbers of dairy and beef cattle. Since 2010 it has had a companion dog laboratory.
Its researchers have made significant contributions to challenging traditional views of the relationship between dogs and humans. A project in 2013 found that dogs are likely to raise their left eyebrow when happy, but to move their right ear on seeing an object they feared. A widely-reported study of bonding between dogs and humans two years later found that looking into a dog’s eyes raised human levels of the hormone oxytocin in much the same way as contact between mother and child.
