Meiji University
Meiji University is a private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920.[2] As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergraduate students and 2,635 postgraduate students.[3] The university consists of 10 undergraduate, 12 graduate, and 4 professional graduate schools, and operates on four campuses around the Greater Tokyo Area: Surugadai, Izumi, Ikuta, and Nakano. The country's most applied-to university, with applications to its undergraduate degrees amounting to approximately 100,000 annually.[4] Meiji is a part of the Top Global University Project of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.[5] As of 2021, 270 Meiji alumni have competed in the Olympics, garnering 40 medals: 14 gold, 13 silver, and 13 bronze.[6]
Also recorded as Meiji daigaku · Meidai
Meiji University

Lombroso · Public domain
- Name
- Meiji University
- Founded
- 1881
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Part of
- Tokyo Big6 · MARCH
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Documentary summary
Meiji University is a private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920.[2] As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergraduate students and 2,635 postgraduate students.[3] The university consists of 10 undergraduate, 12 graduate, and 4 professional graduate schools, and operates on four campuses around the Greater Tokyo Area: Surugadai, Izumi, Ikuta, and Nakano. The country's most applied-to university, with applications to its undergraduate degrees amounting to approximately 100,000 annually.[4] Meiji is a part of the Top Global University Project of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.[5] As of 2021, 270 Meiji alumni have competed in the Olympics, garnering 40 medals: 14 gold, 13 silver, and 13 bronze.[6]
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Educated At · incoming
Akira Kobayashi
Person
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Daisuke Ban
Person

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Denmei Suzuki
Person
『キネマ旬報』1931年3月1日号
Educated At · incoming
Eiji Hamano
Photographer

Educated At · incoming
Eijirō Tōno
Person
『 キネマ旬報 』1954年三月下旬号(通算第87号)、キネマ旬報社、1954年、p. 37 " Mothion Picture Times " No. 87, Kinema Jumpo Sha Ltd., p. 37
Educated At · incoming
Goro Tameike
Person
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Hiraide Shū
Author

Educated At · incoming
Jūrō Kara
Author
令和3年度 文化功労者:文部科学省

Educated At · incoming
Kazufumi Miyazawa
Author
No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims).

Educated At · incoming
Ken Takakura
Person
国際情報社『映画情報』第31巻1月号(1966)より

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Kenjiro Tsuda
Person
Tsuda Kenjiro from "The Concierge" at Red Carpet of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2023

Educated At · incoming
Kihachi Okamoto
Person
キネマ旬報社『キネマ旬報』5月上旬号(1960)より

Educated At · incoming
Kiwao Nomura
Author
Own work

Educated At · incoming
Kiyoshi Sasabe
Person
Own work
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Machiko Toyoshima
Person

Educated At · incoming
Mao Inoue
Person
Inoue Mao from "Remember to Breathe" at Red Carpet of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2022
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q46492 · wikipedia · Meiji University
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Meiji University • Native Name — 明治大学 • Motto — 権利自由、独立自治 • Motto Eng — Rights, Liberty, Independence and Self-governance • Type — Private research university • President — Ueno Masao • Faculty — 2,897 (Spring 2020) • Undergrad — 30,010 (Spring 2020) • City — Chiyoda, Suginami, Nakano, and Kawasaki • State — Greater Tokyo • Country — Japan • Campus — Urban • Former Names — Meiji Law School (1881–1903) • Colours — Shikon (bluish purple) • Mascot — Meijirō
Undergraduate schools
Undergraduate schools
• Illustration — Meiji University School House (Liberty Tower) • 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 Local Governance • 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 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
Professional Graduate Schools
• Graduate School of Governance Studies • Graduate School of Global Business • Graduate School of Professional Accountancy • Law School
Campus life
Campus life
• Illustration — Meiji University Baseball Team in 1956 (Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium) Meiji University Baseball Team belongs to the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. Every year, rugby union and baseball matches Meisōsen against Waseda University attract support among its students. It also has a successful judo team.[7] In 2004, Meiji University reorganised existent three museum collections and opened Meiji University Museum.[8] The university announced on February 26, 2009, that it would open a museum dedicated to anime and manga.[9] It will include international research centers hosting Japanese and international scholars as well as a large quality of artifacts on the subject.
Key facts
Key facts
• We N — 35 • Qs A — 301-350 • Qs W — 1201-1400
Key facts
Key facts
• Soc 1 — 0 • Law 1 — 0 • Be N — 6 • Be Pr — 20 • Bus 1 — 0 • Ed N — 13 • Ed W — 519 • Cpa N — 5 • Line 1 — 0 • Nstr 1 — 0 • Neng N — 37 • Arc 1 — 0 • Arc N — 9 Meiji University has achieved worldwide recognition in various international publications focusing on higher education.
General rankings
General rankings
The university has been ranked 19th and 26th in 2009 and 2010 respectively in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai.[10] The QS World University Rankings ranked the university 354th in Asia in 2025.[11]
Research performance
Research performance
The Nikkei Shimbun on 16 February 2004 surveyed about the research standards in engineering studies 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.[12] Meiji has filed the 62nd highest number of patents in the nation as its research outcomes.[13]
Alumni rankings
Alumni rankings
According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings, graduates from Meiji University have the 35th best employment rate in 400 major companies[17] 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.[18] Meiji graduates have been ranked fifth in Japan in the number of successful national CPA exam applicants.[20] Its graduates have been also ranked ninth in Japan in the number of successful Architect Registration exam applicants.[21] Furthermore, the number of Members of Parliament who graduated Meiji is sixth in Japan.[22]
Popularity and selectivity
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.[23][24] Its entrance difficulty is also very selective.[25] Meiji university is regarded as comparable with the Tokyo-area private universities Aoyama Gakuin, Rikkyo, Chuo, and Hosei, collectively called "MARCH".
Alumni
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.[27]
Politics
Politics
• Illustration — Former (1974–1976) Japanese prime minister Takeo Miki • Illustration — Madjid Usman
World leaders
World leaders
• The 66th Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Miki (1974–1976) • The 81st Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama (1994–1996) • Illustration — US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Other politicians
Other politicians
• Gibril Ibrahim (Minister of Finance and Economic Planning) in the republic of Sudan. • Xie Jieshi (Manchu Empire Foreign Minister) • Hasegawa Nyozekan • Abdoel Madjid Usman (Indonesian revolutionary, first Indonesian to study in Japan)[28] • 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 • Fumiaki Matsumoto • Ritsuo Hosokawa (Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare) • Yoshitaka Shindo (Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications) • Satoshi Takayama • Shigeo Kitamura • Yoshio Urushibara • Koichi Tani • Masaji Matsuyama • Masaaki Akaike • Naoki Inose (Governor of Tokyo, journalist) • Ben Nighthorse Campbell, US Senator
Others
Others
• Illustration — Masao Koga • Illustration — Takeshi Kitano • Illustration — Yuto Nagatomo • Illustration — Keiko Kitagawa • 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) • Tiger Hattori (professional wrestling referee, New Japan Pro-Wrestling) • Syu Hiraide (novelist, lawyer) • Takafumi Hori (football manager) • Senichi Hoshino (baseball player, manager) • Kei Inoo (member of Hey! Say! JUMP, idol, actor, singer) • Mao Inoue (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 (film director)[29] • Daichi Kiyono (actor, rugby player) • Akira Kobayashi (film actor) • Yasuo Kobayashi (aikido instructor) • Masao Koga (composer) • Masato Koizumi (Preacher) • Shigeaki Kosugi (freelance broadcaster/actor) • Keiichiro Koyama (actor, singer (J-pop group NEWS), 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 (film director) • Ren Osugi (film actor) • Toshio Sakai (photographer) • Motoi Sakuraba (composer, musician)[30] • Kazuhiro Sano (film director and actor) • Kiyoshi Sasabe (film director) • Mamoru Sasaki (screenwriter) • Norio Sasaki (soccer manager) • Kentaro Seki (professional soccer player) • Fusako Shigenobu (activist) • Tetsuo Shinohara (film director) • Sohn Kee-chung (marathon 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 wrestler) • Noboru Tanaka (film director) • Kenichiro Teratsuji (KENCHI) (dancer and actor)[31] • 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 (composer, singer) • Tomohisa Yamashita (actor, singer) • Yoshihiro Yonezawa • Tom Yoda (Business Administration Graduate), current councilor of the university and ex-chairman of Avex Group • 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
Sister Universities
• National Formosa University, Yunlin, Taiwan
Identity
Identity
Meiji University is established in GND (German National Library) under 500301-5. Established in Library of Congress under n81127549. Established in FAST under 562030. Associated with Japan.
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
Explore 1881
The full dated record · 3 entries
1881
Meiji University established.
1881
Meiji University is recorded from 1881.
1881
Meiji University was established or created in 1881.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
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.[14] 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.[15] Eduniversal ranked Meiji as fourth in the rankings of "Excellent Business Schools nationally strong and/or with continental links" in Japan.[16]
Context
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Meiji University stands. Recorded at coordinates 35.6975, 139.7616. Established or created in 1881. Recorded as private university. Situated in Japan. University lies within Tokyo.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Internet Archive holdings naming Meiji University
General reference · Internet Archive
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q46492: Meiji University
General reference · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Meiji University”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
People and holdings
Knowledge graph
People and holdings
Those recorded as working within this institution, and the records it holds or is connected with.
Studied at
12- Akira KobayashiPerson
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- Goro TameikePerson
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- Jūrō KaraAuthor
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- Ken TakakuraPerson
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- Kiwao NomuraAuthor
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- Nobuyoshi SanoPerson
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sanseidō. 10 March 2025.
- 2.明治大学の成り立ちと創立者たち. 明治大学.
- 3.入学者数・在学生数、卒業・就職状況等. 明治大学.
- 4.私立大学「実志願者数」2023年版 トップは明治大学. AERA dot. (アエラドット). 2023-06-06.
- 5.Universities - Study in Japan(Japanese university) - Global30.
- 6.ALL ABOUT MEIJI データで見る明治大学. ALL ABOUT MEIJI.
- 7.Takahiko Ishikawa, Donn F. Draeger. Judo Training Methods. Tuttle Publishing. 24. 1999. 9780804832106.
- 8.明治大学博物館(スポット紹介) 【公式】東京都千代田区の観光情報公式サイト / Visit Chiyoda. visit-chiyoda.tokyo.
- 9.David McNeill, "A Scholarly Home for Manga," Chronicle of Higher Education. ("To continue reading this premium article [beyond the first 2 sentences], you must have a Chronicle account AND a subscription or an online pass.")
- 10.Toyo Keizai. Truly Strong Universities. 2010.
- 11.QS Asia University Rankings 2025 - Overall. Top Universities. 2025-05-20.
- 12.大学工学部研究力調査(04.2.22).
- 13.Archived copy.
- 14.2010年(平成22年)新司法試験法科大学院別合格率ランキング -法科大学院seek-.
- 15.大学ランキング 偏差値・就職・資格なんでもランクづけ 司法試験合格者数累計(昭和24年~平成20年).
- 16.University and business school ranking in Japan.
- 17.図録▽大企業就職率大学ランキング.
- 18.大学ranking.net.
- 19.大学ranking.net.
- 20.Yutaka Honkawa. CPA Successful Applicants rankings. 2010.
- 21.Shikaku Seek. Architects Registration Exam Successful Applicants rankings. 2010.
- 22.閣僚経験者出身大学ランキング―有名人の出身大学ランキング.
- 23.Archived copy.
- 24.代々木ゼミナール(予備校) - ご案内.
- 25.Archived copy.
- 26.YELL books. 2011.
- 27.明治大学出身の有名人. みんなの大学情報.
- 28.Riadi, Fajar. Indonesia and Japan in War: Same Bed, Different Dreams. historia.id. 2023-03-17.
- 29.June 2009.
- 30.Chris, Greening. Motoi Sakuraba Profile. Game Music Online. 20 January 2013.
- 31.活躍する卒業生 – KENCHI – - Meiji.net(メイジネット)明治大学.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
institutional register
Internet Archive holdings naming Meiji UniversityInternet Archive
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q46492: Meiji UniversityWikimedia Foundation
General reference
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