Japan University Rankings 2025

Explore the best universities in Japan with the Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings 2025, revealing the top colleges across the nation based on their teaching strength. This year, we’ve ranked 257 institutions across all 47 prefectures in Japan, assessing their resources, student engagement, outcomes and environment. Our globally recognised and trusted methodology includes 16 performance indicators, with three of the metrics drawing on our in-depth Japan Student Survey. Developed by Times Higher Education’s in-house data team, these rankings are relied on by students, academics, policymakers and industry leaders worldwide.

Highlights

• Tohoku University is the number one university in Japan for the fifth time in a row
• Kyoto University rises one place to fourth and leads on outcomes
• Akita International University is back in the top 10 for the first time since 2020, topping the list for environment
• Tokyo Medical and Dental University achieves the highest score for resources
• International Christian University is number one for student engagement but drops out of the overall top 10

Explore the table below to discover the full ranking and how universities across Japan are performing this year.

Our analysis finds that Japanese universities with a strong international presence have made gains this year.

To unlock the data behind THE’s rankings and access a range of analytical and benchmarking tools, visit our data and insights page.