University of Tokyo Climbs to 26th Place in Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings

By Kazuhiko Makita / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

14:20 JST, October 10, 2025

LONDON — The University of Tokyo was 26th in Times Higher Education’s World University Ranking 2026, which was released on Thursday, its highest ever ranking.

Last year, it was ranked 28th. Kyoto University’s ranking dropped from 55th place to 61st.

The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom topped the list for a tenth consecutive year. The top 10 universities were again dominated by American and British institutions.

China’s Tsinghua University was 12th for a third consecutive year, making it the highest-ranked Asian university. Peking University also held on to its position, coming in 13th for the second year in a row. In total, five Chinese universities made the top 40, two more than last year.

Nine Japanese universities were listed among the world’s top 500. Tohoku University rose to 103rd, its highest ever placement. The university was designated in November last year as the first recipient of the Universities for International Research Excellence program, a government program that will allocate portions of a ¥10 trillion university fund.

The Institute of Science Tokyo, which was formed in October last year through a merger of Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University, was ranked in the 301–350 bracket. The rankings are calculated based on factors such as education environment, research quality and international outlook.

While the magazine noted that Japanese universities have improved in areas such as investments in doctoral programs, it noted that the country’s representation at the top of the rankings has dipped slightly.