Newcastle's Japanese university campus will open next year after more than two years sitting vacant.
A Hunter-based representative for Nihon University told the Newcastle Herald on Monday that students likely would start arriving from Japan in February.
Two Nihon representatives are in Newcastle this week finalising a facilities management contract for the campus.
Tokyo-based Nihon bought the historic former Newcastle Court House in 2017 for $6.6 million and embarked on a $41 million overhaul.
The project included two new four-storey buildings on either side of the 1890s court house, including classrooms, a residential building for 100 students and a cafeteria.
Building work finished in September 2021, but the Japanese government continued discouraging universities from sending students overseas due to the COVID-19 pandemic until this year.
A maximum of 100 Japanese students will live on campus, study English and exchange cultural and academic knowledge during three-month stays in Newcastle.
Founded in 1889 as a law school, privately owned Nihon University has about 75,000 undergraduate students across various colleges and campuses.
It has said its first overseas campus will serve as a "hub for international mutual exchange programs between Australian and Japanese students promoting and understanding Japanese culture".
University of Newcastle's law faculty will use the original courtrooms for mock trials as part of an agreement with Nihon.
The restored courthouse building will be open for public tours during heritage events and festivals.
Japanese architect practice Azusa Sekkei designed the campus, incorporating elements of traditional and contemporary Japanese architecture.
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