Japan's Top 2% Scientists 2020: Career-Long List

Japan has 6,316 scientists on the 2020 career-long Top 2% list. That places Japan 5th in the world by number of listed scientists. University of Tokyo has the most listed scientists (421), followed by Kyoto University (339).

Single Year

4,484

First year listed

Career Data

6,316

First year listed

World rank by count

First year listed

Institutes

941

First year listed

Scientists in Japan on the list, by year

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+16.6%

2022+3.6%

2023+6.5%

2024+1.7%

2025+5.7%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	4,484		6,316
2021	5,416	+20.8%	7,362	+16.6%
2022	5,496	+1.5%	7,630	+3.6%
2023	5,694	+3.6%	8,126	+6.5%
2024	5,609	-1.5%	8,261	+1.7%
2025	5,713	+1.9%	8,730	+5.7%

Top 10 institutes in Japan

By number of listed scientists

Career-long list2020

Show the list

1University of Tokyo421
2Kyoto University339
3Tohoku University280
4Osaka University267
5Tokyo Institute of Technology189
6Nagoya University160
7Hokkaido University149
8Kyushu University139
9National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology128
10Riken107

All 6,316 scientists

Career-long list2020

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in Japan	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	20	AS Akira, Shizuo	Osaka University	Immunology	Rank 1
2	48	IS Iijima, Sumio	Meijo University	Chemical Physics	Rank 3
3	226	TY Tokura, Yoshinori	University of Tokyo	Applied Physics	Rank 10
4	244	Sakaguchi, Shimon	Osaka University	Immunology	Rank 13
5	252	NS Nagata, Shigekazu	Osaka University	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 18
6	325	MN Mizushima, Noboru	University of Tokyo	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 21
7	328	KT Kishimoto, Tadamitsu	Osaka University	Immunology	Rank 19
8	446	NR Noyori, Ryoji	Nagoya University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 12
9	472	HM Haruta, Masatake	Tokyo Metropolitan University	Physical Chemistry	Rank 3
10	484	KM Kimura, Motoo	National Institute of Genetics Mishima	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 5
11	510	KS Kobayashi, Shū	University of Tokyo	Organic Chemistry	Rank 16
12	578	AH Akagi, Hirofumi	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 1
13	599	MY Matsuzawa, Yuji	Sumitomo Hospital	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 36
14	668	TM Takeichi, Masatoshi	Riken Center for Developmental Biology	Developmental Biology	Rank 59
15	674	MH Maeda, Hiroshi	BioDynamics Research Foundation	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 9
16	701	OH Ohno, Hideo	Tohoku University	Applied Physics	Rank 24
17	810	FM Fujita, Makoto	University of Tokyo	Organic Chemistry	Rank 24
18	811	HH Hosono, Hideo	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 27
19	929	IM Irie, Masahiro	Rikkyo University	General Chemistry	Rank 15
20	948	KT Kokubo, Tadashi	Chubu University	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 5
21	1,059	AH Akaike, Hirotugu	The Institute of Statistical Mathematics	Statistics & Probability	Rank 6
22	1,118	YS Yamanaka, Shinya	Center for iPS Cell Research and Application	Developmental Biology	Rank 94
23	1,123	KA Kudo, Akihiko	Tokyo University of Science	General Chemistry	Rank 18
24	1,131	NS Nakanishi, Shigetada	Osaka Bioscience Institute	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 116
25	1,325	SS Shinkai, Seiji	Institute of Systems, Information Technologies and Nanotechnologies (ISIT)	Organic Chemistry	Rank 38
26	1,461	MK Miyazono, Kohei	University of Tokyo	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 65
27	1,539	NY Nishizuka, Yasutomi	Kobe University School of Medicine	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 66
28	1,600	NS Narumiya, Shuh	Graduate School of Medicine	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 70
29	1,666	KM Kanehisa, Minoru	Kyoto University	Bioinformatics	Rank 11
30	1,669	AT Ando, Tsuneya	Tokyo Institute of Technology	General Physics	Rank 12
31	1,729	Kitagawa, Susumu	Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences	General Chemistry	Rank 25
32	1,840	TK Tamura, Koichiro	Tokyo Metropolitan University	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 27
33	1,902	IY Ikada, Yoshito	Kyoto University	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 10
34	2,115	AS Amari, Shun Ichi	Riken	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 46
35	2,231	SM Shibuya, Masabumi	Jobu University	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 119
36	2,238	MN Miyaura, Norio	Hokkaido University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 63
37	2,244	FA Fujishima, Akira	Tokyo University of Science	Energy	Rank 14
38	2,267	TY Tsujimoto, Yoshihide	Osaka International Cancer Institute	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 98
39	2,367	TT Taniguchi, Tadatsugu	University of Tokyo	Immunology	Rank 90
40	2,399	KK Kataoka, Kazunori	University of Tokyo	Polymers	Rank 12
41	2,431	KT Kadowaki, Takashi	University of Tokyo	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 91
42	2,613	OY Ohsumi, Yoshinori	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 111
43	2,646	NE Niki, Etsuo	University of Tokyo, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 113
44	2,710	TK Takeda, Kiyoshi	Osaka University	Immunology	Rank 103
45	2,752	AC Adachi, Chihaya	Kyushu University	Applied Physics	Rank 81
46	2,771	SA Suzuki, Akira	Hokkaido University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 76
47	2,774	HA Harada, Akira	Osaka University	Polymers	Rank 16
48	2,781	KH Kitano, Hiroaki	Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 62
49	2,824	AM Anpo, Masakazu	Osaka Prefecture University	Physical Chemistry	Rank 16
50	2,839	KT Katsuki, Tsutomu	Kyushu University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 81
51	2,871	MK Morokuma, Keiji	Fukui Institute for Fundamental Chemistry	Chemical Physics	Rank 94
52	2,958	ST Sugimura, Takashi	National Cancer Center Research Institute	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 153
53	2,974	TH Tanaka, Hajime	University of Tokyo	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 30
54	2,996	SK Shinozaki, Kazuo	Riken	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 19
55	3,183	MJ Ma, Jian Feng	Okayama University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 21
56	3,195	NN Nagaosa, Naoto	Riken	Applied Physics	Rank 86
57	3,267	MW McDonough, William F.	Tohoku University	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 29
58	3,280	ST Sakurai, Takeshi	University of Tsukuba	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 328
59	3,313	YM Yanagisawa, Masashi	University of Tsukuba	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 332
60	3,377	HS Hirohashi, Setsuo	National Cancer Center Research Institute	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 176
61	3,433	MK Maeda, Kazuhiko	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 97
62	3,490	UK Uchida, Koji	Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences The University of Tokyo	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 155
63	3,584	HT Hirano, Toshio	Osaka University	Immunology	Rank 140
64	3,608	HT Honjo, Tasuku	Graduate School of Medicine	Immunology	Rank 141
65	3,643	TM Taketo, Makoto Mark	Kyoto University	Developmental Biology	Rank 237
66	3,647	YN Yamazoe, Noboru	Kyushu University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 15
67	3,695	MA Miyawaki, Atsushi	RIKEN Center for Brain Science	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 160
68	3,705	YK Yagi, Kunio	Nagoya University	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 161
69	3,707	TY Tabata, Yasuhiko	Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 23
70	3,770	KM Kudo, Masatoshi	Kindai University	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 66
71	3,776	MM Makuuchi, Masatoshi	Japanese Red Cross Medical Center	Surgery	Rank 20
72	3,849	MT Minami, Tadatsugu	Kanazawa Institute of Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 103
73	3,867	OH Ohno, Hiroyuki	Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology	Polymers	Rank 26
74	3,890	ŌS Ōmura, Satoshi	Kitasato University	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 11
75	3,953	YA Yoshimura, Akihiko	Keio University School of Medicine	Immunology	Rank 155
76	4,017	TH Tsuji, Hideto	Toyohashi University of Technology	Polymers	Rank 27
77	4,058	SH Shimokawa, Hiroaki	Tohoku University School of Medicine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 210
78	4,108	TK Tanaka, Keiji	Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 177
79	4,129	AS Adachi, Sadao	Gunma University	Applied Physics	Rank 109
80	4,155	NS Nojiri, Shin'ichi	Nagoya University	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 58
81	4,304	SM Shibasaki, Masakatsu	Microbial Chemistry Research Center	Organic Chemistry	Rank 110
82	4,310	TK Tsubota, Kazuo	Keio University School of Medicine	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 18
83	4,318	KT Kato, Takashi	University of Tokyo	Polymers	Rank 31
84	4,319	MK Mikoshiba, Katsuhiko	RIKEN Center for Brain Science	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 187
85	4,321	KM Kawato, Mitsuo	Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 428
86	4,341	OS Oyama, S. Ted	University of Tokyo	Physical Chemistry	Rank 20
87	4,343	WF Winnik, F. M.	National Institute for Materials Science	Polymers	Rank 32
88	4,414	FM Fukugita, Masataka	University of Tokyo	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 66
89	4,491	KY Kawaoka, Yoshihiro	University of Tokyo	Virology	Rank 27
90	4,638	HW Hamilton, W. D.	Kyushu University	Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology	Rank 8
91	4,684	MN Murata, Norio	National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Institute for Basic Biology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 31
92	4,891	TS Tanabe, Shinsuke	Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 21
93	4,981	MK Maruoka, Keiji	Kyoto University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 122
94	5,091	IH Imahori, Hiroshi	Kyoto University	General Chemistry	Rank 44
95	5,120	OH Okamoto, Hiroaki	Jichi Medical University	Virology	Rank 35
96	5,172	TT Tsuruo, T.	Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 265
97	5,186	OT Okano, Teruo	Tokyo Women's Medical University	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 30
98	5,338	OH Okano, Hideyuki	Keio University School of Medicine	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 512
99	5,411	NK Niihara, Koichi	Nagaoka University of Technology	Materials	Rank 69
100	5,435	ON Otsu, Nobuyuki	National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 97
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2020

United Kingdom14,999 scientistsin 2020

Germany8,792 scientistsin 2020

Canada7,225 scientistsin 2020

Australia5,441 scientistsin 2020

China5,273 scientistsin 2020

France5,048 scientistsin 2020

Explore other countries

Career-long list2020

South Korea1,350 scientistsin 2020

Taiwan1,151 scientistsin 2020

Hong Kong878 scientistsin 2020

Macau22 scientistsin 2020

Israel1,630 scientistsin 2020

India1,491 scientistsin 2020

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Japan are in the 2020 Stanford Top 2% list?

4,484 scientists affiliated with Japan are on the 2020 single-year list, and 6,316 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in Japan has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2020 career-long list, University of Tokyo has the most listed scientists from Japan, with 421. It is followed by Kyoto University with 339.

What is the difference between the single-year and career-long lists?

The single-year list ranks scientists on the citations their work received in one year. The career-long list ranks them on citations across their whole career. Both lists are published every year, and a scientist can be on one, both or neither.

What is the official source of this data?

The rankings come from the science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators published by Ioannidis et al. in the Elsevier Data Repository, updated every year. TOPSCINET, an independent platform, organises that data by country, year, institute and field, so you can compare and explore it.