Tohoku University has taken first place in the 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings.
The rankings, now in their fourth year, were produced in partnership with Japanese education company Benesse.
The Japan University Rankings are calculated based on four broad “pillars” (resources, engagement, outcomes and environment) covering 16 performance indicators. They differ from the THE World University Rankings in that they are more focused on what institutions offer students rather than on research data. Click here to read the full methodology for the Japan rankings.
This year THE used responses from seven questions from the 2019 and 2020 Japan Student Surveys to find out what students think of the teaching at their universities. The results were taken from more than 71,000 responses from 278 universities across Japan. More information on the survey and the questions included can be found in this document created last year to introduce the survey.
Japan is a country that successfully maintains ancient traditions alongside its identity as a nation of technological innovation. This contrast can also be seen in the country’s higher education institutions as they develop their research output and international outreach while preserving Japan’s culture and values.
Top five universities in Japan
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1. Tohoku University
Many of Tohoku University’s facilities are built around and within the ancient war grounds of the city of Sendai.
In 1913, Tohoku became the first university in Japan to admit female students after the appointment in 1911 of its first president, Masataro Sawayanagi, the vice-minister of education. Tohoku was also the first university in Japan to admit foreign students.
In 2009, Tohoku University was one of 13 universities selected by the Japanese government to contribute to providing higher education at an international level, and the university introduced a series of degree programmes that are predominantly taught in English.
2. Kyoto University
Kyoto University is spread across three campuses in Yoshida, Uji and Katsura. It is one of Japan’s oldest universities and is consistently ranked highly in Asia.
Kyoto has about 22,000 students, 10 faculties, 19 graduate schools, 13 research institutes and 21 research and educational centres.
The university was initially made up of colleges in law, medicine, letters, and science and engineering. Within two years, the university opened a library and a hospital. Later, it established faculties in economics, agriculture and humanities, and the first graduate school was launched in the mid-20th century.
The institution has produced a number of successful researchers, including 10 Nobel prizewinners, two Fields medallists and one Gauss prizewinner.
=3. The University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo became the first national university in Japan when it was established in 1877.
It provides courses across the academic spectrum and currently has 10 faculties, 15 graduate schools, 11 affiliated research institutes (including the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology), 13 university-wide centres, three libraries and two institutes for advanced study.
Students are taught at three main campuses in Hongo, Komaba and Kashiwa but there are facilities associated with the university throughout Japan. The university has a slightly unusual course structure in that students follow a liberal arts education at one campus during their first two years before transferring to another campus to study their chosen major.
The campuses are in close proximity to many of Tokyo’s cultural attractions including Yanesen, a town of temples, and Ueno Park, with its museums and cherry blossoms. The campuses also have good transport links to the centre of the capital.
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=3. Tokyo Institute of Technology
The Tokyo Institute of Technology is a national research university located in the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan.
It is the largest institution for higher education in Japan that is dedicated to science and technology education. The university is organised into six schools within which there are over 40 departments and research centres.
One Nobel prize laureate attended the university – Hideki Shirakawa, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000.
5. Kyushu University
Kyushu University has maintained its fifth place position from last year’s ranking.
The university has international students from all over the world. The number of foreign students continues to rise year-on-year.
There are 7.5 million items in the Kyushu University Museum including documents, archaeological artefacts and an insect collection of more than 4 million specimens.
Student experiences of studying in Japan
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The study experience at Tohoku University
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