As of 2008, there were 87 , 89 public universities, and 580 private universities in Japan. National universities tend to have a good reputation in higher education in Japan. They are often more difficult to get into than private or public universities.
In 2004, the national university system changed. National universities were no longer completely public public and more of a private. Since 2004, every national university has become a special type of corporation. They are called . They now have more freedom and less control from the government. Faculty and staff are no longer , and they do not work for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
This is a complete list of Japanese national universities:
The Government of Japan started The Open University of Japan and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. It also supports them with money. However, these two universities are not national universities; they are private universities.