This is a list of prime ministers of Japan and the educational institutions they attended. As of April 2024, of the 64 prime ministers to date, 17 were educated at the University of Tokyo (called Tokyo Imperial University until 1945), seven at Waseda University, six at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, five at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, three at Keio University, two at Kyoto University and Meiji University, and one at 13 other institutions. 7 did not attend higher education.
Much of the prime ministers who were born and raised during the Edo period did not attend university as there was no formal system of higher education, instead education was predominantly conducted by local temples and shrine priests through private education such as the Yushima Seidō. [1] [2] The Meiji restoration led to the modernization of Japan, including its education. As a result, aristocrats and nobilities first received higher education by travelling to western countries such as the Chōshū Five which Itō Hirobumi, the first prime minister of Japan, was a part of, attending University College London. [3]
Bold indicates institutions that are active as of April 2024.
The emperor of Japan or Tennō, literally "ruler from heaven" or "heavenly sovereign", is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power". The Imperial Household Law governs the line of imperial succession. Pursuant to his constitutional role as a national symbol, and in accordance with rulings by the Supreme Court of Japan, the emperor is personally immune from prosecution. By virtue of his position as the head of the Imperial House, the emperor is also recognized as the head of the Shinto religion, which holds him to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. According to tradition, the office of emperor was created in the 7th century BC, but modern scholars believe that the first emperors did not appear until the 5th or 6th centuries AD.
The University of Tokyo is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era institutions, its direct predecessors include the Tenmongata and the Shoheizaka Institute.
Marquess Ōkuma Shigenobu was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and founder of Waseda University. He is considered a centrist.
Kyoto University, or KyotoU, is a national research university located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan.
The Kazoku was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (daimyō) and court nobles (kuge) into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distinguished military officers, politicians, and scholars were occasionally ennobled until the country's defeat in the Second World War in 1945. The system was abolished with the 1947 constitution, which prohibited any form of aristocracy under it, but kazoku descendants still form the core of the traditional upper class in the country's society, distinct from the nouveau riche.
Keio University, abbreviated as Keio (慶應) or Keidai (慶大), is a private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
The Imperial Household Agency (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD until the Second World War, it was known as the Imperial Household Ministry.
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.
The Kaisei Academy (開成学園) is a preparatory private secondary school for boys located in the Arakawa ward of Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1871.
The Daijō-daijin or Dajō-daijin was the head of the Daijō-kan during and after the Nara period and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. Equivalent to the Chinese Tàishī (太師).
The history of education in Japan dates back at least to the sixth century, when Chinese learning was introduced at the Yamato court. Foreign civilizations have often provided new ideas for the development of Japan's own culture.
National Foundation Day is an annual public holiday in Japan on 11 February, celebrating the foundation of Japan, enforced by a specific Cabinet Order set in 1966. 11 February is the accession date of the legendary first Emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu at Kashihara-gū, converted into Gregorian calendar of 660 BC which is written in Kojiki and chapter 3 of Nihon Shoki. Coincidentally, 11 February 1889 is the day of the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution.
The 1872–1880 French military mission to Japan was the second French military mission to that country and the first sent by the Third Republic. It followed the first French military mission to Japan (1867–68), which had ended with the Boshin War and the establishment of the rule of Emperor Meiji.
Women's suffrage in Japan can trace its beginnings to democratization brought about by the Meiji Restoration, with the suffrage movement rising to prominence during the Taisho period. The prohibition of women from political meetings had been abolished in 1922 after demands from women's organizations led by activists such as Hiratsuka Raichō and Ichikawa Fusae. The movement suffered heavy setbacks during and after the Great Depression, when support for democracy began to wane and military influence over civilians increased dramatically. The first election by universal suffrage without distinction of sex was held in 1946, but it was not until 1947, when the constitution for post-war Japan came into effect, that universal suffrage was established In Japan.
The Japan Academy is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is currently an extraordinary organ of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology with its headquarters located in Taito, Tokyo, Japan. Election to the Academy is considered the highest distinction a scholar can achieve, and members enjoy life tenure and an annual monetary stipend.
Mutsuhito, posthumously honored as Emperor Meiji, was the 122nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power.
Yoshihito, posthumously honored as Emperor Taishō, was the 123rd Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. The era he presided over is known as the Taishō era.
Kagoshima Prefectural Konan Senior High School is an upper secondary school in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is a co-educational public school.
The Office of Japanese Classics Research was a central government organization for the training of the Shinto priesthood in Japan. It was established by the Meiji Government in 1882 as the successor organization to the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. Prince Arisugawa Takahito was its first leader.