Nihon University (日本大学, Nihon Daigaku; lit. 'Japan University'), abbreviated as Nichidai (日大), is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Japanese word "Nihon" meaning Japan. Nihon University now has 16 colleges and 87 departments, 20 postgraduate schools, one junior college which is composed of five departments, one correspondence division, 32 research institutes and three hospitals. The number of students exceeds 70,000 and is the largest in Japan.