The University of Tokyo’s first female president, then the backlash

The University of Tokyo’s Historiographical Institute on the Hongo Campus in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo | Kakidai / CC BY-SA 4.0 / via Wikimedia Commons

Oct 14, 2026

The University of Tokyo, one of Japan’s most prestigious universities, is under pressure to rebuild public trust and change how it governs itself after a series of scandals.

An associate professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital was arrested on suspicion of bribery in November 2025. A medical professor was arrested on suspicion of bribery in a separate case in January 2026. The university’s subsequent internal investigation also identified multiple violations of its ethics rules. In his January apology, President Teruo Fujii referred to “repeated arrests of faculty members” and acknowledged weaknesses in financial oversight and the university’s organizational culture.

It was against this backdrop that the University of Tokyo selected Prof. Yuko Fujigaki as its next president — the first woman to lead the institution as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2027. As The Japan Times reported, candidates’ plans for governance reform were an important factor in the selection.

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