With regard to the university's mission to assist Japan's imperial aims, Shidehara Taira, the university's first president, was very clear: "In establishing Taihoku Imperial University, the governor-general's office aims to make use of Taiwan's geographical and cultural conditions in order to conduct research on the area of southern China and the South Seas centered on Taiwan."
關於台北帝大必須為殖民政府服務一事，首任校長幣原坦說得很清楚：「總督府設置台北帝大的目的，在利用台灣地理人文條件，發展以台灣為中心的華南及南洋研究。」