University Rankings in Japan

Abstract
Japan has a highly diversified mass higher education system, consisting mainly of private institutions. In their highly developed and matured "market", higher education institutions have been ranked in terms of selectivity for many years. However, the university rankings that began in the 1990s took a different approach, that is, showing multiple rankings in order to enrich the perspectives of university applicants. This article aims at tracing the development of university rankings in Japan and at explaining the link between rankings and the mature, but drastically changing, Japanese higher education market.