Abstract Since the “US News & World Report” started to rank universities and created impacts in the US, the “Times Higher Education Supplement” and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have also started to provide yearly rankings of universities worldwide. Even though they have received both praise and criticism because of the different methods they adopt, university rankings provided by all of these agencies are highly valued worldwide. Meanwhile, countries such as Canada, Germany, Poland, Thailand, China, and Japan all have their own national university rankings held by government agencies, universities or media organizations. In Japan, Asahi Simbun has achieved, since 1994, a high degree of credibility in carrying out university ranking, which provides useful information for and makes a tremendous impact on students, parents and universities. The purpose of this paper is threefold: 1. to discuss theories relevant to university ranking; 2. to analyze the characteristics of Asahi Simbun’s university ranking and the education indicators of last five years; and 3. to compare Asahi Simbun’s university ranking with other university rankings.