On Friday, June 28, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology approved J. F. Oberlin University’s application to open a new college, to be called the College of Aviation Management. Scheduled to open in April, 2020, the new college will have a maximum enrollment of 140 students per year.

J. F. Oberlin’s Flight Operation Course has been a part of the College of Business Management since its inception in 2008. Over the past decade, it has produced more than a hundred qualified pilots, helping to alleviate the shortage of pilots in commercial aviation. Japan’s government has announced a goal of attracting sixty million overseas visitors per year by 2030—the vast majority of whom will arrive by plane—while Boeing and other manufacturers are stepping up their production of aircraft. The College of Aviation Management will address the needs and opportunities created by the booming aviation industry.

The Flight Operation Course will move from the College of Business Management to the new College of Aviation Management, and it will continue to train commercial airline pilots. In addition, the new college will feature three firsts for a Japanese university: the Air Traffic Management Course, the Maintenance Management Course, and the Airport Management Course. The first of these will teach students all aspects of air traffic control and related fields. The second will focus on the skills needed to work in the production and maintenance of today’s jetliners. Finally, with airports increasingly being privatized, the new college’s fourth course will prepare students for careers at facilities both large and small.

Centered on these four courses, the College of Aviation Management will produce a new generation of aviation professionals, equipped with a high level of specialization and outstanding English skills.