Japan in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 5,731 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Japan lists 5,731 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~2.32% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (2,073) and The University of Tokyo (386).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Japan?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Japan (jpn) lists 5,731 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 2.32% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,012, with average h-index near 12.2, across 913 distinct institutions.
Japan remains East Asia’s second-largest national cohort after China in many Directory views, with Clinical Medicine, Physics & Astronomy, and Chemistry as core strengths and The University of Tokyo as the densest affiliation.
East Asia: China, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Japan?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Japan country profile (jpn, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Kanehisa, Minoru I. (Institute for Chemical Research; Biomedical Research; global rank 76; ~13,615 citations). The table below uses # in country for order within this national list and Global rank for the scholar’s overall rank_all in the single-year listing.
| # in country | Researcher | Institution | Field | Global rank | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanehisa, Minoru I. | Institute for Chemical Research | Biomedical Research | 76 | 13,615 |
| 2 | Awual, Md Rabiul | Japan Atomic Energy Agency | Engineering | 158 | 5,124 |
| 3 | Mizushima, Noboru N. | University of Tokyo | Biomedical Research | 204 | 7,347 |
| 4 | Kudo, Masotoshi | Kindai University School of Medicine | Clinical Medicine | 215 | 12,512 |
| 5 | Sharifi, Ayyoob | Hiroshima University | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 228 | 4,668 |
| 6 | Tamura, Koichiro | Tokyo Metropolitan University | Biology | 345 | 17,761 |
| 7 | Tokura, Yoshinori | The University of Tokyo | Physics & Astronomy | 457 | 8,740 |
| 8 | Akaike, Hirotsugu | The Institute of Statistical Mathematics | Mathematics & Statistics | 460 | 3,443 |
| 9 | Akira, Shizuo | WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, The University of Osaka | Clinical Medicine | 483 | 10,765 |
| 10 | Hosono, Hideo | Tokyo Institute of Technology | Physics & Astronomy | 805 | 6,601 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Japan analytics.
What are Japan’s strongest fields?
Japan’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 2,073 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 2,073 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 865 |
| Chemistry | 650 |
| Biomedical Research | 534 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 519 |
Which institutions lead in Japan?
The largest institutional cohort in the Japan profile is The University of Tokyo (386 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| The University of Tokyo | 386 |
| Tohoku University | 251 |
| Graduate School of Medicine | 234 |
| The University of Osaka | 186 |
| Institute of Science Tokyo | 184 |
How has Japan’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Japan moved from 4,478 listed scholars (2020) to 5,731 (2026) — a change of 1,253 (~+28%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,478 |
| 2021 | 5,408 |
| 2022 | 5,491 |
| 2023 | 5,687 |
| 2024 | 5,603 |
| 2025 | 5,708 |
| 2026 | 5,731 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 5,731 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 2.32% |
| Avg. citations | 1,012 |
| Avg. h-index | 12.2 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 76 |
| Distinct institutions | 913 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (2,073) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Kanehisa, Minoru I. (Institute for Chemical Research; Biomedical Research). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Japan on ABS Nexora
- Japan country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- China Top 2% directory 2026
- South Korea Top 2% directory 2026
- Australia Top 2% directory 2026
- Asia vs Europe vs Americas
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Japan have in 2026? 5,731 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 2.32% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Japan? Clinical Medicine, with 2,073 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? The University of Tokyo, with 386 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Japan grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 4,478 to 5,731 listed scholars (~+28%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Japan’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Kanehisa, Minoru I. leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Japan country page or Analytics on ABS Nexora; numbers refresh with the Directory database. Data source: Elsevier / Stanford–Ioannidis World’s Top 2% Scientists lists via ABS Nexora.