Japan University Rankings 2019

The Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings 2019, based on 16 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 13 indicators as last year, as well as three additional engagement measures: student engagement, interaction with teachers/students and student recommendation. These have been drawn from a new THE Japan Student Survey, which was modelled on surveys used in our US and Europe teaching rankings.

The Japan rankings include the top 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 (“150+”) and a banded score (“22.3-41.9”: these two numbers represent the lowest and highest scores of all universities ranked outside the top 150), and are displayed in alphabetical order.

The 2019 Japan ranking is led by Kyoto University. Last year, the institution shared the number one spot with Tokyo University, which has now slipped to number two.

However, the University of Tokyo still leads the resources pillar, while Kyoto heads the outcomes pillar. Akita International University is number one for engagement and environment.

Meanwhile, International Christian University is now the top-ranked private institution, at 11th place, up from 16th.

View the Japan University Rankings 2019 methodology

The calculation of the THE Japan University Rankings 2019 has been subject to independent audit by professional services firm PwC.

Read our full analysis of the THE Japan University Rankings 2019 results