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THE Japan University Rankings
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THE Japan University Rankings 2018

Times Higher Education World University Rankings · · Methodology · Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings official website · Editorial Standards

Evaluates Japanese universities for teaching resources, student engagement, and internationalization.

THE evaluates universities across five pillars — Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, Industry, and International Outlook — making it one of the most comprehensive ranking systems.

How does THE Japan University Rankings evaluate universities?

THE Japan University Rankings, published by Times Higher Education World University Rankings, evaluates universities worldwide using key indicators such as Resources, Engagement, Outcomes, Environment, each assigned a distinct weight according to a publicly documented methodology. Data sources combine academic peer reviews, employer surveys, bibliometric databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, and institutional self-reported statistics, all independently verified by the publisher's research team. The 2018 edition assessed 162 universities from 1 countries and regions, covering teaching quality, research output, internationalization, and graduate employability across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. Times Higher Education World University Rankings recollects raw data annually and cross-checks results to ensure the rankings reflect each institution's most current performance in faculty strength, scholarly productivity, global reach, and student outcomes, providing a reliable reference for prospective students, parents, and education researchers.

Which are the top universities in THE Japan University Rankings 2018?

The top universities in THE Japan University Rankings 2018 are: Kyoto University, The University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kyushu University. This edition, published by Times Higher Education World University Rankings, evaluated 162 universities from 1 countries and regions using indicators such as Resources, Engagement, Outcomes, Environment. Rankings reflect weighted performance across multiple dimensions; students should consider methodology differences and their own academic priorities when interpreting results.

How does THE Japan University Rankings differ from other ranking systems?

THE (Times Higher Education) World University Rankings is among the most comprehensive, evaluating universities across teaching (30%), research environment (30%), research quality (30%), industry income (2.5%), and international outlook (7.5%), with 18 fine-grained indicators. Data sources combine the Elsevier Scopus bibliometric database, academic reputation surveys, and institution-reported statistics. The methodology underwent a major 2024 revision, adding a Research Quality category to reduce reliance on sheer output volume. In comparison, QS leans more on reputation surveys, ARWU is built solely on objective research metrics (Nobel Prizes, highly cited researchers), and US News centers on research productivity and citation impact. THE suits applicants seeking a balanced view of a university's combined research and teaching strength.

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Total 162 universities

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University
Country
1 Kyoto University logo Kyoto University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 87.7 84.7 99.6 98.6 66.3
1 The University of Tokyo logo The University of Tokyo (UT) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 87.7 85.4 99.7 98.9 65.0
3 Tohoku University logo Tohoku University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 86.3 83.4 99.6 95.6 64.6
4 Tokyo Institute of Technology logo Tokyo Institute of Technology (æąåˇĨ大) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 85.6 77.6 98.1 94.7 74.1
5 Kyushu University logo Kyushu University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 85.0 74.8 98.4 97.7 72.2
6 Hokkaido University logo Hokkaido University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 83.4 75.3 97.4 94.8 67.4
7 Nagoya University logo Nagoya University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 82.6 72.3 97.7 95.6 67.4
8 The University of Osaka logo The University of Osaka đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 81.1 77.9 98.5 95.4 49.8
9 University of Tsukuba logo University of Tsukuba đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 80.8 75.0 98.6 88.1 60.0
10 Keio University Keio University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 77.7 59.7 99.1 97.2 61.0
11 Waseda University logo Waseda University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 77.5 53.6 99.2 93.8 73.6
13 Hiroshima University logo Hiroshima University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 75.7 67.6 97.1 76.6 60.6
14 Hitotsubashi University logo Hitotsubashi University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 75.2 51.9 96.6 89.1 73.2
15 Sophia University logo Sophia University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 73.1 46.0 97.7 69.4 90.9
16 International Christian University logo International Christian University (ICU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 71.4 52.0 98.1 44.4 96.8
17 Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 71.0 45.4 93.9 64.3 91.5
18 Kobe University logo Kobe University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 70.7 64.2 92.9 69.3 54.4
19 Chiba University logo Chiba University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 70.5 63.5 93.9 72.0 50.7
20 Kanazawa University logo Kanazawa University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 69.8 66.6 89.8 59.9 59.3
21 = Nagaoka University of Technology logo Nagaoka University of Technology đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 68.5 58.5 82.2 62.9 73.3
21 = Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University logo Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 68.5 - 94.9 54.6 98.9
23 Ritsumeikan University Ritsumeikan University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 68.1 47.1 96.0 66.9 68.5
24 Kyushu Institute of Technology logo Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 66.3 57.7 88.0 64.7 54.6
25 = Okayama University logo Okayama University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 66.1 63.7 91.2 64.4 -
25 = Yokohama National University logo Yokohama National University (YNU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 66.1 53.3 84.5 72.9 57.3
27 Rikkyo University logo Rikkyo University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 65.8 40.7 96.2 60.9 73.9
28 Doshisha University Doshisha University (DU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 65.5 43.1 96.3 64.9 64.0
29 Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 64.8 67.7 66.8 69.6 52.4
30 Tokyo University of Science logo Tokyo University of Science đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 64.6 55.5 94.4 73.2 -
31 Kwansei Gakuin University logo Kwansei Gakuin University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 64.1 42.4 94.1 60.8 65.1
32 Ochanomizu University logo Ochanomizu University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 63.8 63.7 81.2 45.1 59.9
34 University of Aizu logo University of Aizu (UoA) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 63.1 64.8 87.0 - 72.4
35 Meiji University logo Meiji University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 62.9 42.5 97.7 64.1 51.1
36 = Kumamoto University logo Kumamoto University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 62.8 64.0 83.5 49.2 47.2
36 = Tokyo Metropolitan University logo Tokyo Metropolitan University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 62.8 59.6 81.1 65.3 41.9
38 Toyohashi University of Technology logo Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 62.6 65.6 59.6 59.4 64.5
39 = Tokyo Medical and Dental University Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 62.2 82.5 54.0 - 72.7
39 = Yamaguchi University logo Yamaguchi University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 62.2 55.8 81.6 58.6 51.4
41 Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology logo Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 61.9 62.2 70.4 59.0 53.0
42 Kyoto Institute of Technology logo Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 61.8 59.7 62.2 63.1 63.8
43 = Nagasaki University logo Nagasaki University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 61.1 57.0 80.6 56.7 47.2
43 = Osaka City University Osaka City University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 61.1 64.9 65.0 64.8 45.8
45 Kansai University logo Kansai University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 61.0 47.8 87.9 61.3 48.1
46 Yokohama City University logo Yokohama City University (YCU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 60.7 67.5 60.9 58.4 51.3
47 Yamagata University logo Yamagata University (YU ) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 60.5 57.4 87.5 58.6 -
48 Shibaura Institute of Technology logo Shibaura Institute of Technology đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 60.4 52.1 82.0 55.4 51.6
49 Kindai University logo Kindai University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 60.3 43.5 93.2 57.4 49.2
50 Aoyama Gakuin University logo Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU) đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 59.8 41.7 93.2 57.8 48.9
51 = Chuo University Chuo University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 59.7 46.4 87.3 62.0 43.9
51 = Niigata University logo Niigata University đŸ‡¯đŸ‡ĩ Japan 59.7 51.9 83.8 61.6 39.8