Best universities in Japan 2023

Top 10 universities in Japan 2023

Scroll down to view universities in the top 150

Rank	University name	Prefecture
1	Tohoku University	Miyagi
2	The University of Tokyo	Tokyo
3	Osaka University	Osaka
4	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Tokyo
5	Kyoto University	Kyoto
6	Kyushu University	Fukuoka
7	Hokkaido University	Hokkaido
8	Nagoya University	Aichi
9	University of Tsukuba	Ibaraki
10	International Christian University	Tokyo

Tohoku University has taken first place in the 2023 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings.

The rankings, now in their seventh year, were produced in partnership with the 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 than on research data. Click here to read the full methodology for the Japan rankings.

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

5. 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 University has about 22,000 students, 10 faculties, 18 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 departments of 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 11 Nobel Prize winners, two Fields medallists and one Gauss Prize winner.

4. Tokyo Institute of Technology

The Tokyo Institute of Technology is a national research university located in the Greater Tokyo area. 

It is the country’s largest higher-education institution dedicated to science and technology. The university is organised into six schools, within which there are more than 40 departments and research centres. 

Nobel Prize laureate Hideki Shirakawa, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000, attended the university.

3. Osaka University

Osaka University maintains its third-place position from last year. 

Founded in 1931, the university has become one of Japan’s leading universities. It is organised into 11 faculties for undergraduate programmes and 16 graduate schools. 

The university also has six research institutes, four libraries and two university hospitals. 

Osaka University is considered one of the most selective universities in Japan, with one of the most difficult entry exams. 

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2. The University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo was the first national university in Japan when it was established in 1877.

It provides courses across the academic spectrum and has 10 faculties, 15 graduate schools, 11 affiliated research institutes (including the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology), 13 university-wide centres, three main libraries and three 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 programme 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 district of temples, and Ueno Park, with its museums and cherry blossoms. The campuses also have good transport links to the centre of the capital.

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. Tohoku University was also the first university in Japan to admit international students. 

In 2009, Tohoku 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.

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The best universities in Japan 2023: the top 150

Click each institution to view its full profile

Rank (excel)	University name	Prefecture
1	Tohoku University	Miyagi
2	The University of Tokyo	Tokyo
3	Osaka University	Osaka
4	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Tokyo
5	Kyoto University	Kyoto
6	Kyushu University	Fukuoka
7	Hokkaido University	Hokkaido
8	Nagoya University	Aichi
9	University of Tsukuba	Ibaraki
10	International Christian University	Tokyo
11	Hiroshima University	Hiroshima
12	Keio University	Tokyo
13	Kobe University	Hyogo
14	Waseda University	Tokyo
15	Akita International University	Akita
16	Hitotsubashi University	Tokyo
17	Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)	Tokyo
18	Kanazawa University	Ishikawa
19	Chiba University	Chiba
20	Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology	Tokyo
21	Okayama University	Okayama
=22	Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU)	Oita
=22	Sophia University	Tokyo
24	The University of Aizu	Fukushima
25	Kumamoto University	Kumamoto
26	Nagasaki University	Nagasaki
27	Tokyo University of Foreign Studies	Tokyo
28	Yokohama National University	Kanagawa
29	Kyoto Institute of Technology	Kyoto
30	Nagaoka University of Technology	Niigata
31	Ritsumeikan University	Kyoto
32	Ochanomizu University	Tokyo
33	Tokyo University of Science	Tokyo
34	Shibaura Institute of Technology	Tokyo
35	Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT)	Aichi
36	The University of Electro-Communications	Tokyo
37	Tokyo Metropolitan University	Tokyo
=38	Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech)	Fukuoka
=38	Yokohama City University	Kanagawa
=40	Osaka Metropolitan University	Osaka
=40	Rikkyo University	Tokyo
42	Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology	Tokyo
43	Doshisha University	Kyoto
44	Kwansei Gakuin University	Hyogo
=45	Fukuoka Women’s University	Fukuoka
=45	Meiji University	Tokyo
=47	Kanda University of International Studies	Chiba
=47	Nagoya City University	Aichi
=49	Gakushuin University	Tokyo
=49	Nagoya Institute of Technology	Aichi
51	Niigata University	Niigata
52	Aoyama Gakuin University	Tokyo
53	Shinshu University	Nagano
54	Chuo University	Tokyo
55	Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine	Hokkaido
=56	Kansai Gaidai University	Osaka
=56	Nanzan University	Aichi
58	Gunma University	Gunma
=59	Hosei University	Tokyo
=59	Yamaguchi University	Yamaguchi
=61	Akita University	Akita
=61	Nara Women’s University	Nara
=61	St Luke’s International University	Tokyo
=61	Yamagata University	Yamagata
65	Kagoshima University	Kagoshima
=66	University of Fukui	Fukui
=66	Kansai University	Osaka
=66	Saga University	Saga
69	Tsuda University	Tokyo
70	Kindai University	Osaka
=71	University of Toyama	Toyama
=71	Utsunomiya University	Tochigi
73	Hirosaki University	Aomori
74	Soka University	Tokyo
=75	Kobe City University of Foreign Studies	Hyogo
=75	Toyota Technological Institute	Aichi
=77	Saitama University	Saitama
=77	Tottori University	Tottori
=79	Gifu University	Gifu
=79	Kyoto University of Foreign Studies	Kyoto
=81	Aichi Prefectural University	Aichi
=81	Juntendo University	Tokyo
83	Shimane University	Shimane
84	Toyo University	Tokyo
85	Shizuoka University	Shizuoka
86	Musashi University	Tokyo
87	The University of Kitakyushu	Fukuoka
88	Kagawa University	Kagawa
=89	Iwate University	Iwate
=89	Shiga University of Medical Science	Shiga
91	Tokushima University	Tokushima
92	Mie University	Mie
=93	Ehime University	Ehime
=93	Future University Hakodate	Hokkaido
=93	University of Yamanashi	Yamanashi
=96	University of Hyogo	Hyogo
=96	Kochi University of Technology	Kochi
98	University of the Ryukyus	Okinawa
99	Nagoya University of Commerce & Business	Aichi
100	Nagoya University of Foreign Studies	Aichi
101-110	Dokkyo University	Saitama
101-110	Hamamatsu University School of Medicine	Shizuoka
101-110	Ibaraki University	Ibaraki
101-110	Kochi University	Kochi
101-110	Meiji Gakuin University	Tokyo
101-110	University of Miyazaki	Miyazaki
101-110	Ryukoku University	Kyoto
101-110	Sapporo Medical University	Hokkaido
101-110	University of Shizuoka	Shizuoka
101-110	Showa Women’s University	Tokyo
111-120	Chukyo University	Aichi
111-120	Fukushima Medical University	Fukushima
111-120	J. F. Oberlin University	Tokyo
111-120	Kitami Institute of Technology	Hokkaido
111-120	Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine	Kyoto
111-120	Kyoto Sangyo University	Kyoto
111-120	University of Niigata Prefecture	Niigata
111-120	Nippon Medical School	Tokyo
111-120	Reitaku University	Chiba
111-120	Seinan Gakuin University	Fukuoka
111-120	Tokyo Woman’s Christian University	Tokyo
121-130	Aichi Medical University	Aichi
121-130	Akita Prefectural University	Akita
121-130	Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts	Kyoto
121-130	Kanagawa University	Kanagawa
121-130	Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT)	Ishikawa
121-130	Musashino University	Tokyo
121-130	University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan	Fukuoka
121-130	Oita University	Oita
121-130	Tokyo International University	Saitama
131-140	Fukuoka University	Fukuoka
131-140	Fukushima University	Fukushima
131-140	Jikei University School of Medicine	Tokyo
131-140	Muroran Institute of Technology	Hokkaido
131-140	Prefectural University of Hiroshima	Hiroshima
131-140	Shiga University	Shiga
131-140	Teikyo University	Tokyo
131-140	Tokyo University of Agriculture	Tokyo
131-140	Tokyo City University	Tokyo
131-140	Tsuru University	Yamanashi
141-150	Asia University	Tokyo
141-150	Fujita Health University	Aichi
141-150	Fukuoka Institute of Technology	Fukuoka
141-150	Kitasato University	Tokyo
141-150	Kogakuin University	Tokyo
141-150	Konan University	Hyogo
141-150	Meijo University	Aichi
141-150	Nihon University	Tokyo
141-150	Tokai University	Kanagawa
141-150	Tokyo Medical University	Tokyo

See the full Japan University Rankings here