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Best Universities in Japan 2026

A consensus ranking of 31 universities in Japan, aggregating QS, THE, ARWU (Shanghai) and U.S. News into one transparent table. Part of our <a href="/rankings/country/">global rankings by country</a> coverage (Asia).

Data verified: June 2026 · Latest published edition of each ranking
How these rankings work: each university's position in QS, THE, ARWU and U.S. News is converted to a percentile, averaged with equal weight, and re-ordered by that average. Only universities appearing in at least one major ranking are shown. Full details on the methodology page.
#University QS 2026THE 2026ARWU 2025U.S. News 2026 Consensus score
1 The University of Tokyo · Tokyo 36 26 31 84 97.4
2 Kyoto University · Kyoto 57 61 46 187 95
3 Nagoya University · Nagoya 164 225 101-150 354 87.6
4 Institute of Science Tokyo · 166 101-150 371 86.9
5 Osaka University · Osaka 91 · 201-300 314 84.9
6 Tohoku University · Sendai 109 · 201-300 308 84.7
7 Kyushu University 170 325 201-300 352 83.2
8 Hokkaido University 170 375 201-300 434 81.5
9 University of Tsukuba 350 375 201-300 510 78.3
10 Keio University 215 700 201-300 550 75.4
11 Hiroshima University 480 700 401-500 628 66.1
12 Kobe University 482 700 501-600 709 62.6
13 Waseda University 196 900 701-800 578 60.3
14 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University · · 401-500 714 59.6
15 Chiba University 791-800 1100 601-700 857 49.3
16 Okayama University 951-1000 1100 501-600 · 47.1
17 Osaka Metropolitan University 901-950 1350 401-500 1199 45.3
18 Juntendo University · 550 901-1000 1014 42.2
19 Kanazawa University 901-950 1100 801-900 1207 38.3
20 Kumamoto University 951-1000 1100 901-1000 1134 36.1
21 Yokohama City University 1001-1200 1100 901-1000 1018 36
22 Nagasaki University 901-950 1350 801-900 1157 35.8
23 Tokyo University of Science 801-850 1350 801-900 1372 34.4
24 Shinshu University 1201-1400 1350 701-800 1296 31.9
25 Kindai University 1401+ 1350 701-800 1314 30.6
26 Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology 851-900 1350 901-1000 1468 30.1
27 Wakayama Medical University · 900 · 1996 27.6
28 Tokushima University 1201-1400 1350 901-1000 1695 21.9
29 Kitasato University · · 701-800 1879 15.5

About Japan higher education

Japan has a deep academic tradition, with the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University leading the former Imperial Universities. Japanese universities are known for their rigorous engineering and science programs, though English-taught options remain limited at undergraduate level.

Data sources

QS World University Rankings 2026QS Quacquarelli Symonds · Jun 2025 · official release
THE World University Rankings 2026Times Higher Education · Oct 2025 · official release
ARWU 2025ShanghaiRanking Consultancy · Aug 2025 · official release
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026U.S. News & World Report · official release
Cite this page:
EduRank (2026). Best Universities in Japan 2026. Retrieved June 2026, from https://edurank.co/rankings/country/jp/
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