Hokkaido University (HU)

Hokkaido University (北海道大学, Hokkaidō daigaku), or Hokudai (北大), is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation’s finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered one of the top universities in Japan and was ranked 5th in THE Japan University Rankings. It was also selected as a “Top Type” university by the Japanese government’s Top Global University Project. The main campus is located in downtown Sapporo, just north of Sapporo Station, and stretches approximately 2.4 kilometers northward. In 2014 the university was selected under the Super Global Universities program that began as an initiative of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe who stated its aim was to help more of Japan’s universities rank in the top 100 worldwide. Under the program, it is listed in the top university category or Type A—(Top Type) The Top Type is for world-class universities that have the potential to be ranked in the top 100 in world university rankings. Each Type A university will receive ¥420 million ($US 4.2 million) annually until 2023.

In June 2020, Hokkaido University president Toyoharu Nawa was dismissed by Japanese education minister Koichi Hagiuda for abuse of power at the workplace, becoming the first national university president to be dismissed since national universities became independent in 2004. He was succeeded by former neurosurgeon and director of Hokkaido University Hospital Kiyohiro Houkin.