The University of Tokyo has formed a strategic partnership with the University of Cambridge to deepen exchanges with the elite British university, including faculty and student exchanges, as well as joint workshops.
Japan's top-ranked university said the partnership, similar to ones it has also forged with China's Peking University and Australian National University, is part of its drive to become a "top-level comprehensive research university in a non-English speaking region" by the end of the 2023 academic year.
The partnership agreements come on top of an existing tie-up deal with Princeton University in the United States.
"We will not fall behind in international competition but be all out to win," said Toshikazu Hasegawa, an executive vice president at the Tokyo institution.
The University of Tokyo ranked 23rd in the world last year, while Cambridge was No. 5, Peking University No. 48 and the Australian National University No. 45, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The University of Tokyo aims to forge similar partnerships with other overseas universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley.