The following is a comprehensive list of universities in Japan, categorized by

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

. The list contains only universities or colleges, either four-year or two-year, that still exist today and are classified as "schools" according to Article 1 of the School Education Law. (See

Daigakkō is a word used in names of some post-secondary educational institutions in Japan. The National Defense Academy of Japan (''Bōei Daigakkō'') was established with École Polytechnique as its model. Most institutions in Japan that use "''daigakkō' ...

for universities that are not considered "schools".) Also, each university or college is listed in the prefecture in which its headquarters is located, not the location of their satellite campuses, etc. or that of some of its departments or divisions. For the list of universities that existed in the past or merged into another school, see List of historical universities in Japan. ♀ indicates a

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

. A list of top ranked universities is available in the final section.

By prefecture

Aichi

Akita

Aomori

Chiba

Ehime

* Ehime University *♀ Ehime Women's College *

Imabari Meitoku Junior College thumb is a private junior college in Imabari, Ehime, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Se ...

Matsuyama Shinonome College is a private women's college in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by ...

Matsuyama University is a private university in Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estima ...

* St. Catherine University

Fukui

* Fukui Prefectural University *

Fukui University The is a national university of Japan located in the city of Fukui, Fukui, Japan. History University of Fukui was established in 1949 by integrating three national colleges in Fukui Prefecture: , and . The university at first had two facul ...

Fukui University of Technology The is a private university founded in 1950 and located in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The university has undergraduate faculties in engineering, environmental and information sciences, and sports and health sciences, as well as a graduate ...

* Jin-ai University * Jin-ai Women's College * Tsuruga College

Fukuoka

Fukushima

Gifu

Gunma

Hiroshima

Hokkaidō

Hyōgo

Ibaraki

Ishikawa

Iwate

Kagawa

Kagoshima

Kanagawa

Kōchi

* Kochi Gakuen College *

Kochi University Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Ke ...

Kochi University of Technology is a prefectural university in Tosa Yamada, Kami, Kōchi, Japan. After its foundation in 1997, Professor Yasuharu Suematsu was its first president. Kochi University of Technology serves 2056 undergraduate students, 224 Master students and 74 D ...

*♀ Kochi Women's University

Kumamoto

Kyoto

Mie

Miyagi

Miyazaki

Nagano

*♀ Iida Women's Junior College * Matsumoto Dental University * Matsumoto Junior College *

Matsumoto University is a private university in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, established in 2002. Matsusho Gakuen Junior College is a private junior college in Matsumoto, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designa ...

Nagano College of Economics was a private junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technica ...

Nagano College of Nursing is a public university in Komagane, Nagano, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, ...

* Nagano University *♀ Nagano Women's Junior College * Saku University * Science University of Tokyo, Suwa * Seisen Jogakuin College * Shinshu Honan Junior College * Shinshu Junior College *

Shinshu University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As the only university in Japan bearing the name of a former Japanese province, it bears the name "Shinshu" (alternative name for Shinano Pro ...

* The University of Nagano *♀ Ueda Women's Junior College

Nagasaki

Nara

Niigata

Ōita

Okayama

Okinawa

Osaka

Saga

Kyushu Ryukoku Junior College is a private junior college in Tosu, Saga, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, wh ...

Nishikyushu University is a private university in Kanzaki, Saga, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, w ...

* Saga Junior College →

Nishikyushu University Junior College is a private junior college in Saga, Saga, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, ...

* Saga University *♀ Saga Women's Junior College

Saitama

Shiga

Shimane

Shimane University — colloquially known as — is a national university in Japan. Although formally established as a university in 1949, Shima-dai's origins date back to the late 19th century. In 2003 it merged with the Shimane Medical University (established ...

* University of Shimane

Shizuoka

Tochigi

Tokushima

Naruto University of Education is a national university A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated w ...

* Shikoku University *

Tokushima Bunri University is a private university in Tokushima, Japan. History In 1895, Sai Murasaki founded a private vocational school. In 1966, "Tokushima Women's University" was founded. In 1972, "Tokushima Women`s University" was renamed "Tokushima Bunri Univer ...

* Tokushima College of Technology * University of Tokushima

Tokyo

Tottori

* Tottori College *

Tottori University , abbreviated to , is a national university in Japan. The main campus is located in Koyamachō-Minami, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture. Another campus, the Faculty of Medicine, is located on the Yonago Campus in Yonago, Tottori. History Tott ...

* Tottori University of Environmental Studies

Toyama

* Takaoka University of Law * Toyama College * Toyama College of Welfare Science * Toyama Prefectural University * Toyama University of International Studies *♀ Toyama Women's College *

University of Toyama The is a Japanese national university in Toyama Prefecture established in 1949. The University of Toyama has three campuses, namely the Gofuku, Sugitani, and Takaoka campuses. The University of Toyama, Sugitani campus is the home to Institut ...

Wakayama

Koyasan University is a private university in Mount Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The predecessor of the school was established in 1886 as a monastic school for Shingon Buddhist monks, and it was chartered as a university in 1926. In addition to its main camp ...

* Wakayama Medical University *♀ Wakayama Shin-Ai Women's Junior College *

Wakayama University , or , is a national university located in Wakayama, Japan. It was founded in 1949 and is organized in four faculties. Organization The university is divided into the following four faculties. *Faculty of Education & Graduate School of Education ...

Yamagata

* Tohoku University of Art & Design *

Tohoku University of Community Service and Science is a Japanese private university, located in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan. History Koeki University (The Tohoku University of Community Service and Science) was established in 2001 by the prefectural government of Yamagata Prefecture, and 14 municipa ...

* Uyo Gakuen College * Yamagata Junior College * Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences *

Yamagata University is a national university located in the Japanese cities of Yamagata, Yonezawa, and Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture. The Times Higher Education released World University Rankings 2016–2017. Yamagata University ranked 600-800th out of the to ...

*♀ Yonezawa Women's Junior College

Yamaguchi

Yamanashi

By ranking

As of September 2010,

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarel ...

Top 100 included

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

at 27th position and

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = ...

at 57th.

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

2010 Top 100 included

at 20th position,

at 24th,

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

at 75th and

Nagoya University , abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was the seventh Imperial University in Japan, one of the first five Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of ...

at 79th. The QS Asia University Rankings Top 20 included

at 5th position,

at 7th,

at 8th,

Tohoku University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated Natio ...

at 9th,

at 10th,

Tokyo Institute of Technology is a national research university located in Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Tokyo Tech is the largest institution for higher education in Japan dedicated to science and technology, one of first five Designated National University and selected as ...

at 11th,

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. It was the 4th Imperial University in Japan, ranked as 4th in 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, one of the top 10 Design ...

at 17th and

University of Tsukuba is a public university, public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Pro ...

at 20th.

References

External links

Yahoo Directory Japan -> Colleges and universities
{{Asia topic, List of universities in

Universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...