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Browse the full results of the Japan University Rankings 2025

Japanese universities with a strong international presence have made gains in this year¡¯s national ranking as outbound student exchanges show mixed rates of recovery after the pandemic.?

Tohoku University remains Japan¡¯s top institution in the Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings 2025, followed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology, which has moved up two places since the last edition of the rankings, and The University of Tokyo, which has fallen by one.?

Akita International University is back in the top 10 for the first time since 2020, while?several other international universities have also improved their position, including Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Kanda University of International Studies, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, St Luke¡¯s International University and Miyazaki International University.?

That is not to say the same is true of all of Japan¡¯s globally focused universities: Kyoto University of Foreign Studies fell 18 places to 97th, while International Christian University dropped from?10th place to 11th.

Japan University Rankings 2025: top 10

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The data collected for this year¡¯s rankings highlights a mixed picture for internationalisation at Japanese universities at a time when policymakers are keen to enhance the country¡¯s position on the?global stage, including through higher education institutions.

A key part of this is encouraging more Japanese students to study abroad, either for full degree programmes or on short-term exchanges. In 2023, the government set a target of sending 500,000 Japanese students abroad each year by 2033.?

Given this figure was about 220,000 in 2019, the goal is ¡°very ambitious¡±, said Tatsu Hoshino, executive secretary of the Japan Association of Overseas Studies (JAOS).?

However, the imperatives for encouraging international study are clear. ¡°Japan's population is shrinking, and with the globalisation of business, Japan¡¯s international competitiveness is on the decline,¡± said Hoshino. Policymakers hope that encouraging more young people to study abroad will enhance Japan¡¯s national development and international links, and make the country more outward-looking.?

Unsurprisingly, outbound student numbers plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic, and recovery has been mixed, with institutions returning to pre-Covid numbers at different rates.?

The universities with the highest historical outbound mobility rates have recovered best. Data analysis shows that the 27 universities in this year¡¯s rankings that?previously had more than 10 per cent of the student body participating in exchanges have returned to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.?

At the other end of the spectrum, the 105 universities that sent less than?3 per cent of their students abroad have recovered to 86 per cent, while those in the middle saw the slowest recovery.?

However, universities will need to do more than just recover to reach the government¡¯s target. In Tokyo, local authorities are planning to introduce grants to encourage more students to go abroad but, in Hoshino¡¯s opinion, more needs to be done to encourage employers to value study abroad experience and thus encourage students to seize these opportunities.?

However, he is optimistic. In light of the shrinking domestic market, Japanese businesses are also increasingly expanding abroad, meaning graduates with international experience are likely to become more valuable.?

¡°Japan is an island nation with a considerable economic scale, and until now, people could lead fulfilling lives within the country,¡± he said. However, demographic decline and the impact of the pandemic has changed this outlook ¨C and with it, internationalisation is becoming increasingly important to people. ¡°I believe that Japan¡¯s young people have come to realise that it will no longer be possible to live without connections to the outside world.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com