Japan University Rankings 2018

The Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings 2018, based on 13 individual performance metrics, are designed to answer the questions that matter most to students and their families when making one of the most important decisions of their lives – who to trust with their education.

This year’s methodology includes the same 11 indicators as last year, as well as two additional internationalisation measures: the number of students in international exchange programmes, and the number of courses taught in a language other than Japanese.

The rankings include the top-ranked 150 universities by overall score, as well as any other university that is in the top 150 for any of the four performance pillars (resources, engagement, outcomes and environment). Scores in each pillar are provided when the university is in the top 150, while a dash (“–”) indicates that the institution is not ranked in the top 150 for that pillar.

Institutions outside the top 150 are shown with a banded rank (“151+”) and a banded score (“9.4-38.2”: these two numbers represent the lowest and highest scores of all universities ranked outside the top 150), and are displayed in alphabetical order.

The 2018 Japan rankings has a new joint number one: while the University of Tokyo holds on to the top spot, it is joined by Kyoto University, which has jumped from third to first place. Tohoku University has dropped from second to third.

Japan’s four other National Seven Universities – Nagoya University, Osaka University, Kyushu University and Hokkaido University – also feature at the top of the table between fifth and eighth place. The Tokyo Institute of Technology is again the only institution outside this elite group to make the top eight, in fourth place.

Keio University is the country’s top private university and the only private institution to make the top 10.

The University of Tokyo achieves the highest score in the resources pillar of the rankings, which measures institutional income and student-to-staff ratio, among other indicators, and the highest score in the outcomes pillar, which measures academic and employer reputation.

Meanwhile, Akita International University tops the engagement and environment pillars, which measure, respectively, the quality of university teaching and the diversity and inclusivity of the university environment.

View the Japan University Rankings 2018 methodology

The calculation of the THE Japan University Rankings 2018 has been subject to independent audit by professional services firm PwC.

Read our full analysis of the THE Japan University Rankings 2018 results

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