Keio University enjoys a proud tradition as Japan’s first private institution of higher learning. The university was founded in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa, who is considered to be the “Father of Modern Education” in Japan. Graduates of Keio University occupy top leadership positions in government, business and society. The university has produced three prime ministers and numerous cabinet ministers and prefecture governors. Many presidents of Japanese and foreign affiliated companies are graduates of Keio, reflecting the prominence of the university in the business community. Its graduates are at the forefront of literature, science, medicine and law.

Keio Law School is located on the Mita campus of Keio University in the Mita section of Minato-ku in central Tokyo . It is housed in a building erected in 2005, and includes state of the art communications, research and teaching facilities. The Law School admits approximately 220 students to each entering class. Students are admitted to either a two-year (kishu) or three-year (mishu) program leading in both cases to a J.D. degree. Since the introduction of a new bar examination system in 2006, Keio Law School has consistently placed in the top tier of law schools nationwide, measured by the total number of passing students and the bar passage rate. In April 2017, Keio University Law School (KLS) established a master’s degree program (LL.M.) in Global Legal Practice. This is a professional graduate master’s degree course with instruction in English language – the first of its kind within a Japanese law school. Exchange students from Georgetown will be able to take most of the LL.M. courses offered. In 2023, Keio hosted two Georgetown students.