Best universities in Japan

Find the top universities in Japan using Times Higher Education’s rankings data

March 24 2020

Tohoku University, Japan, Rankings, University

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

Scroll down to view universities in the top 150

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

Why I chose to study at Osaka City University
The study experience at Tohoku University
Foreigners in Japan: student stories
Tokyo’s tiny medical school defied my expectations
Learning new things at Kobe University
Studying at Hiroshima University: an international perspective
Student life at a medical university with a high staff-to-student ratio
Studying at a Japanese university: the experiences of two British students
The cost of studying at a university in Japan
A day in the life of a student in Japan

The best universities in Japan 2020: the top 150

Japan Rank 2020	University	Prefecture
1	Tohoku University	Miyagi
2	Kyoto University	Kyoto
=3	The University of Tokyo	Tokyo
=3	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Tokyo
5	Kyushu University	Fukuoka
6	Hokkaido University	Hokkaido
7	Nagoya University	Aichi
8	Osaka University	Osaka
9	University of Tsukuba	Ibaraki
10	Akita International University	Akita
11	International Christian University	Tokyo
12	Hiroshima University	Hiroshima
13	Waseda University	Tokyo
14	Keio University	Tokyo
15	Kobe University	Hyogo
16	Hitotsubashi University	Tokyo
17	Nagaoka University of Technology	Niigata
=18	Kanazawa University	Ishikawa
=18	Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology	Tokyo
20	Sophia University	Tokyo
=21	Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU)	Oita
=21	Tokyo University of Foreign Studies	Tokyo
23	Chiba University	Chiba
24	The University of Aizu	Fukushima
25	Ochanomizu University	Tokyo
26	Kyoto Institute of Technology	Kyoto
27	Kumamoto University	Kumamoto
28	Okayama University	Okayama
=29	Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology	Tokyo
=29	Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)	Tokyo
31	Yokohama National University	Kanagawa
32	Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT)	Aichi
33	Ritsumeikan University	Kyoto
34	Toyota Technological Institute	Aichi
35	Shibaura Institute of Technology Tokyo	Tokyo
=36	Kanda University of International Studies	Chiba
=36	Yokohama City University	Kanagawa
38	Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech)	Fukuoka
39	Tokyo University of Science	Tokyo
40	Fukuoka Women’s University	Fukuoka
41	The University of Electro-Communications	Tokyo
42	Tokyo Metropolitan University	Tokyo
43	Nagasaki University	Nagasaki
44	Tsuda University	Tokyo
=45	Doshisha University	Kyoto
=45	Kwansei Gakuin University	Hyogo
=47	Akita University	Akita
=47	Rikkyo University	Tokyo
=49	Gakushuin University	Tokyo
=49	Osaka City University	Osaka
51	Kobe City University of Foreign Studies	Hyogo
52	Shinshu University	Nagano
=53	Meiji University	Tokyo
=53	Niigata University	Niigata
55	Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine	Hokkaido
56	Nagoya Institute of Technology	Aichi
57	Osaka Prefecture University	Osaka
58	University of Fukui	Fukui
59	Tottori University	Tottori
60	Chuo University	Tokyo
61	Ehime University	Ehime
=62	Kansai Gaidai University	Osaka
=62	St Luke’s International University	Tokyo
64	Toyo University	Tokyo
=65	Nanzan University	Aichi
=65	Yamagata University	Yamagata
=65	Yamaguchi University	Yamaguchi
68	Hosei University	Tokyo
69	Tokushima University	Tokushima
=70	Future University Hakodate	Hokkaido
=70	Utsunomiya University	Tochigi
=72	Aoyama Gakuin University	Tokyo
=72	Kansai University	Osaka
=72	Kochi University of Technology	Kochi
=75	Gifu University	Gifu
=75	Kindai University	Osaka
=75	Soka University	Tokyo
78	Gunma University	Gunma
79	University of Toyama	Toyama
80	Saga University	Saga
=81	Kagoshima University	Kagoshima
=81	Shimane University	Shimane
83	Saitama University	Saitama
84	Shizuoka University	Shizuoka
85	Akita Prefectural University	Akita
86	The University of Kitakyushu	Fukuoka
87	University of Shizuoka	Shizuoka
88	Ibaraki University	Ibaraki
89	Kochi University	Kochi
90	Nagoya University of Foreign Studies	Aichi
=91	Iwate University	Iwate
=91	Nagoya City University	Aichi
93	Juntendo University	Tokyo
94	Mie University	Mie
=95	Aichi Prefectural University	Aichi
=95	J. F. Oberlin University	Tokyo
97	Musashi University	Tokyo
98	Kagawa University	Kagawa
99	Sapporo Medical University	Hokkaido
=100	Ryukoku University	Kyoto
=100	Showa Women’s University	Tokyo
101-110	Dokkyo University	Saitama
101-110	Hamamatsu University School of Medicine	Shizuoka
101-110	Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT)	Ishikawa
101-110	Kitasato University	Tokyo
101-110	Kyoto University of Foreign Studies	Kyoto
101-110	Kyoto Sangyo University	Kyoto
101-110	University of Niigata Prefecture	Niigata
101-110	Seinan Gakuin University	Fukuoka
101-110	Shiga University of Medical Science	Shiga
101-110	Tokyo University of Agriculture	Tokyo
111-120	University of Hyogo	Hyogo
111-120	Kitami Institute of Technology	Hokkaido
111-120	Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine	Kyoto
111-120	Meiji Gakuin University	Tokyo
111-120	University of Miyazaki	Miyazaki
111-120	Nagoya University of Commerce & Business	Aichi
111-120	Nara Women’s University	Nara
111-120	University of the Ryukyus	Okinawa
111-120	Seikei University	Tokyo
121-130	Fukuoka Institute of Technology	Fukuoka
121-130	Fukushima Medical University	Fukushima
121-130	Hyogo College of Medicine	Hyogo
121-130	Japan Women’s University	Tokyo
121-130	Jikei University School of Medicine	Tokyo
121-130	Kogakuin University	Tokyo
121-130	Konan University	Hyogo
121-130	Nara Medical University	Nara
121-130	Nihon University	Tokyo
121-130	Toyama Prefectural University	Toyama
121-130	University of Yamanashi	Yamanashi
131-140	Aichi Medical University	Aichi
131-140	Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts	Kyoto
131-140	Fukushima University	Fukushima
131-140	Kyushu Sangyo University	Fukuoka
131-140	Muroran Institute of Technology	Hokkaido
131-140	Nippon Medical School	Tokyo
131-140	Osaka Medical College	Osaka
131-140	Teikyo University	Tokyo
131-140	Tokyo International University	Saitama
131-140	Tokyo Woman’s Christian University	Tokyo
141-150	Chiba Institute of Technology	Chiba
141-150	Chukyo University	Aichi
141-150	Fukuoka University	Fukuoka
141-150	Meijo University	Aichi
141-150	Otaru University of Commerce	Hokkaido
141-150	Shiga University	Shiga
141-150	Tamagawa University	Tokyo
141-150	Tokai University	Kanagawa
141-150	Tokyo City University	Tokyo