is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

in Chiyoda,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergraduate students and 2,635 postgraduate students. The university consists of 10 undergraduate, 12 graduate, and 4 professional graduate schools, and operates on four campuses around the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Ibaraki Prefecture, ...

Surugadai is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was named after Tokugawa Ieyasu's death, when the Edo government allowed officials from Sunpu (now Shizuoka) to live in the area. Kanda-Surugadai is often called or, colloquially, . The main building ...

, Izumi, Ikuta, and Nakano. Meiji University is the country's most applied-to university, with applications to its undergraduate degrees amounting to approximately 100,000 annually. Meiji is a part of the Top Global University Project of Japan's

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

. As of 2021, 270 Meiji alumni have competed in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

, garnering 40 medals: 14 gold, 13 silver, and 13 bronze.

Academics

Undergraduate schools

*School of Law **Businesses Law Course **International Relations Law Course **Public Service Law Course **Law and Information Course **Pre-Law School Course *School of Commerce **Applied Economics Course **Marketing Course **Finance & Insurance Course **Global Business Course **Management Course **Accounting Course **Creative Business Course *School of Political Science and Economics **Department of Political Science **Department of Economics **Department of Regional Administration *School of Arts and Letters **Department of Literature **Department of History and Geography **Department of Social Psychology *School of Science and Technology **Department of Electrical Engineering **Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering **Department of Mechanical Engineering **Department of Precision Engineering **Department of Architecture **Department of Industrial Chemistry **Department of Information Science **Department of Mathematics **Department of Physics *School of Agriculture **Department of Agriculture **Department of Agricultural Chemistry **Department of Life Sciences **Department of Food and Environmental Policy *School of Business Administration **Department of Business Administration **Department of Accounting **Department of Public Management *School of Information and Communication *School of Global Japanese Studies **Department of Global Japanese Studies *School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences

Graduate schools

*Graduate School of Law *Graduate School of Commerce *Graduate School of Political Science and Economics *Graduate School of Business Administration *Graduate School of Arts and Letters *Graduate Schools of Informatics and Communication *Graduate School of Science and Technology *Graduate School of Agriculture *Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences *Graduate School of Humanities *Graduate School of Global Japanese Studies *Graduate School of Global Governance

Professional Graduate Schools

*Graduate School of Governance Studies *Graduate School of Global Business *Graduate School of Professional Accountancy *Law School

Campus life

Meiji University's baseball team belongs to the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. Every year,

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

matches ''Meisōsen'' () against

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

attract support among its students. It also has a successful judo team. In 2004, Meiji University reorganised existent three museum collections and opened Meiji University Museum. The university announced on February 26, 2009, that it would open a museum dedicated to

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. It will include international research centers hosting Japanese and international scholars as well as a large quality of artifacts on the subject.

Academic rankings

Meiji University has achieved worldwide recognition in various international publications focusing on higher education.

General rankings

The university has been ranked 19th and 26th in 2009 and 2010 respectively in the ranking " Truly Strong Universities" by

Toyo Keizai is a book and magazine publisher specializing in politics, economics and business, based in Tokyo, Japan. The company is famous for established in 1895, one of three Japanese leading business magazines ranked with published by Nikkei Busines ...

. The ''

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

'' ranked the university 354th in Asia in 2025.

Research performance

The '' Nikkei Shimbun'' on 16 February 2004 surveyed about the research standards in

engineering studies Engineering studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social sciences and humanities devoted to the study of engineers and their activities, often considered a part of Science and Technology Studies, science and technology studies (STS), and inte ...

based on Thomson Reuters, Grants in Aid for Scientific Research and questionnaires to heads of 93 leading Japanese Research Centers, and Meiji was placed 37th in this ranking. Meiji has filed the 62nd highest number of patents in the nation as its research outcomes.

Graduate school rankings

Meiji Law School is considered one of the top Japanese law schools, as Meiji's number of successful candidates for Japanese bar examination has been 14th and 20th in 2009 and 2010 respectively. It is one of the strongest department in this university as the cumulative number of people qualified as lawyer and prosecutor has been historically sixth after WW2.

Eduniversal Eduniversal is a university ranking business by the French consulting company and rating agency ''SMBG'' specialized in Higher Education. Founded in 1994, one of the main goals of Eduniversal is to provide a tool, for students all around the world ...

ranked Meiji as fourth in the rankings of "Excellent Business Schools nationally strong and/or with continental links" in Japan.

Alumni rankings

According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings, graduates from Meiji University have the 35th best employment rate in 400 major companies The university is also ranked sixth in Japan for the number of alumni holding the position of executive in the listed companies of Japan, and this number per student (probability of becoming an executive) is 25th. Meiji graduates have been ranked fifth in Japan in the number of successful national CPA exam applicants. Its graduates have been also ranked ninth in Japan in the number of successful Architect Registration exam applicants. Furthermore, the number of Members of Parliament who graduated Meiji is sixth in Japan.

Popularity and selectivity

The number of applicants per place was 24.9 (113,905/4,582) in the 2011 undergraduate admissions, this number of applicants (113,905) was largest in 2011. Its entrance difficulty is also very selective. Meiji university is regarded as comparable with the Tokyo-area private universities Aoyama Gakuin, Rikkyo, Chuo, and Hosei, collectively called "

MARCH March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

Alumni

Meiji University's alumni have included: Japan's first female lawyer, 2 Japanese prime ministers, 48 national politicians, 380 professional athletes, 115 company presidents, and 264 artists.

Politics

World leaders

*The 66th Japanese Prime Minister

Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976. A native of Tokushima Prefecture, Miki was educated at Meiji University and the University of Southern California. He was first elected ...

(1974–1976) *The 81st Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama (1994–1996) BenNCampbell

Other politicians

*Dr. Gibril Ibrahim (Minister of Finance and Economic Planning) in the republic of Sudan. * Xie Jishi ( Manchu Empire Foreign Minister) * Hasegawa Nyozekan * Abdoel Madjid Usman (Indonesian revolutionary, first Indonesian to study in Japan) * Yōsuke Matsuoka (Minister for Foreign Affairs) * Ichio Asukata (chairman of the Japan Socialist Party) * Takashi Sasagawa (Minister) * Ken Harada (Minister of Economic Planning) * Masayuki Fujio (Minister of Education) * Hiromichi Watanabe *

Yoshitaka Sakurada is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. He formerly served as Minister of State for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Fourth Abe ...

* Fumiaki Matsumoto * Ritsuo Hosokawa (Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare) *

Yoshitaka Shindo Yoshitaka is a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Written forms Yoshitaka can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義孝, "justice, filial piety" *義隆, "justice, nob ...

(Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications) * Satoshi Takayama * Shigeo Kitamura * Yoshio Urushibara * Koichi Tani * Masaji Matsuyama * Masaaki Akaike * Naoki Inose (

Governor of Tokyo The is the head of government of Tokyo. In 1943, upon the unification of Tokyo City and Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture into Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the position of Governor was created. Previously, the prefecture had a ...

, journalist) * Ben Nighthorse Campbell, US Senator

Others

* Yū Aku (lyricist, poet, and novelist) * Seiya Ando (basketball player) * Hideki Arai (manga artist) * Morio Agata (singer) * Nahomi Edamoto (culinary expert) * Yuta Fujihara (professional football player) * Tatsuji Fuse (Korean independence movement custodian) * Hideo Gosha (film director) * Koji Hashimoto (professional football player) * Masaaki Hatsumi (martial artist, founder of

Bujinkan The is an international martial arts organization based in Japan and headed by Masaaki Hatsumi. The combat system taught by this organization comprises nine separate ryūha, or schools, which are collectively referred to as ''Bujinkan Budō Taij ...

) * Tiger Hattori (professional wrestling referee,

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

) * Syu Hiraide (novelist, lawyer) * Takafumi Hori (football manager) * Senichi Hoshino (baseball player, manager) * Kei Inoo (member of

Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an nine-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Smile-Up (formerly known as Johnny & Associates). The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more ...

, idol, actor, singer) *

Mao Inoue Mao Inoue (井上真央, ''Inoue Mao'', born January 9, 1987), is a Japanese actress. She is best known to Japanese television drama audiences as Makino Tsukushi in the '' Boys Over Flowers'' series and as Sugi Fumi ( ja) in the 54th taiga dr ...

(actress) * Sogo Ishii * Kensuke Isidu (fashion designer) * Sachio Ito (novelist) * Kaiji Kawaguchi (manga artist) * Yuzo Kawashima (film director) * Kan Kikuchi (novelist) * Keiko Kitagawa (actress) * Yuki Kobayashi (professional football player) * Ryuki Miura (professional football player) * Mayumi Mizuno (announcer) * Masaru Kitano (doctor of engineering and TV commentator) *

Takeshi Kitano , also known as in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. During hi ...

(film director) * Daichi Kiyono (actor, rugby player) * Akira Kobayashi (film actor) * Yasuo Kobayashi (aikido instructor) *

Masao Koga was a Japanese composer, mandolinist, and guitarist of the Shōwa era who was dubbed "Japan's Irving Berlin" by Universal Press Syndicate. His melancholy style, based upon Nakayama Shimpei's '' yonanuki'' scale, was popularly known in Japan ...

(composer) * Masato Koizumi (Preacher) * Shigeaki Kosugi (freelance broadcaster/actor) * Keiichiro Koyama (actor, singer (J-pop group

NEWS News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

), former MC ( Shounen Club) * Kazufumi Miyazawa (composer, singer) * Showtaro Morikubo (voice actor, actor, singer) * Osamu Mukai (actor) * Yuto Nagatomo (professional football player) * Toshiyuki Nishida (film actor) * Tomoso Nonaka (novelist and illustrator) * Hiroshi Ohshita (Professional Baseball Player, Hall of famer) * Yoshiaki Oiwa (Equestrian Eventing Rider) *

Kihachi Okamoto was a Cinema of Japan, Japanese film director who worked in several different film genre, genres. Career Born in Yonago, Tottori, Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an exp ...

(film director) *

Ren Osugi , born was a Japanese actor. For his work in ''Cure'', '' Hana-bi'' and other films, Osugi was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1999 Yokohama Film Festival. He often worked alongside Takeshi Kitano and Susumu Terajima. In the DVD com ...

(film actor) * Toshio Sakai (photographer) * Motoi Sakuraba (composer, musician) *

Kazuhiro Sano is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and actor best known for his '' pink films'' of the 1990s. Along with fellow directors, Takahisa Zeze, Toshiki Satō and Hisayasu Sato, he is known as one of the . Sano's films differ from those of ot ...

(film director and actor) * Kiyoshi Sasabe (film director) *

Mamoru Sasaki was a Japanese TV and film screenwriter. He was born in Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan. He graduated from Meiji University. Script TV programs *some episodes of ''Ultraman'' *some episodes of '' Ultra Seven'' *some episodes of ''Monkey'' Films * ...

(screenwriter) * Norio Sasaki (soccer manager) * Kentaro Seki (professional soccer player) * Fusako Shigenobu (activist) *

Tetsuo Shinohara is a Japanese film director. His film ''First Love (2000 film), First Love'' was the 3rd Best Film at the 22nd Yokohama Film Festival. Filmography * ''Running High'' (1989) * ''Work on the Grass'' (1993) * ''One More Time, One More Chance'' (19 ...

(film director) *

Sohn Kee-chung Sohn Kee-chung (; ; August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) was a Korean Olympic athlete and long-distance runner. He became the first Korean to win a medal at the Olympic Games, winning gold in the Marathon (sport), marathon at the Berlin Oly ...

(

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner) * Kokichi Sugihara (mathematician and artist) * Denmei Suzuki (film actor) * Shigeyoshi Suzuki (film director) * Yuzo Takada (manga artist) * Ken Takakura (film actor) * Buyūzan Takeyoshi (

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler) * Noboru Tanaka (film director) * Kenichiro Teratsuji (KENCHI) (dancer and actor) * Eijirō Tōno (film actor) * Keigo Tsunemoto (professional soccer player) * Ryoichi Uchimura (Keishicho, Kendo player, 2-time All Japan winner) * Naomi Uemura (mountain climber, adventurer) * Moriteru Ueshiba (Third Aikido Doshu) * Wataru Watari (novelist) * Koji Yamamoto (basketball player) * Mizuki Yamamoto (model, actress) *

Tatsuro Yamashita , occasionally referred to as Tatsu Yamashita or Tats Yamashita, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer, who is known for pioneering the city pop style of music. His most well-known song is "Christmas Eve", a best-selling song rel ...

(composer, singer) *

Tomohisa Yamashita , also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host. Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998). He made his musi ...

(actor, singer) * Yoshihiro Yonezawa * Tom Yoda (Business Administration Graduate), current councilor of the university and ex-chairman of

Avex Group Avex Inc. ( kabushiki gaisha , commonly known as Avex and stylized as avex) is a Japanese Conglomerate (company), entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J- ...

* Kenjirou Tsuda (actor, voice actor) * Shingo Fujimori (Oriental Radio/Comedian) * Chicara Jericho (voice actress) * Shogo Hama (actor) * Wakaba Higuchi (figure skater) * Shun Sato (figure skater)

Sister Universities

* National Formosa University, Yunlin, Taiwan

Notes

References

External links

Meiji University website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiji University Meiji University 1881 establishments in Japan American football in Japan Kantoh Collegiate American Football Association Top 8 university Kawasaki, Kanagawa Private universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges established in 1881 Universities and colleges in Kanagawa Prefecture Universities and colleges in Tokyo