In the 2014-15 edition of the World University Rankings, released by the Times Higher Education on Oct. 2, the University of Tokyo managed to remain 23rd in the world and No. 1 in Asia, as in the previous year. But the National University of Singapore, which placed second in the region, is catching up fast.
As was the case the previous year, five Japanese universities were among the top 200 universities of the world. With the exception of the University of Tokyo, however, their ranks fell considerably.
It is quite unlikely that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's initiative of elevating 10 Japanese universities to rank among the global top 100 by 2020 will be achieved. The supremacy of European and American universities remains unswerving while universities in China, South Korea and Hong Kong are advancing rapidly.