The Japan Center for Michigan Universities (ミシガン州立大学連合日本センター, Mishigan shūritsu daigaku rengō Nihon sentaa) (JCMU) is a study center operated by a consortium of the 15 public universities in the State of Michigan and the government of Shiga Prefecture in Japan. It is located on the shores of Lake Biwa, in the city of Hikone. Founded in 1988, JCMU offers May, summer, semester, and academic-year programs for the study of Japanese language and culture for American college and university students, a substantial number of them from Michigan, and provides English language instruction to serve the needs of the local Japanese population. The US administrative offices of JCMU are located at Michigan State University.