The Japanese grading system and how it maps to a GPA

Japanese universities traditionally grade with letters — Shū/S (excellent), Yū/A (good), Ryō/B (fair), Ka/C (pass), and Fuka/F (fail) — usually mapped from marks out of 100. Increasingly they also compute a 4.0-scale GPA.

The letter and percentage bands

A common mapping is S/秀 = 90–100, A/優 = 80–89, B/良 = 70–79, C/可 = 60–69 (the minimum pass), and F/不可 below 60. Some universities cap the top grade at A rather than adding an S band, so check your institution's key.

The Japanese GPA

Where a GPA is reported, it is typically on a 4.0 scale (S/A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, F = 0), though a few universities use a 4.3 or points-per-band variant. The GPA is credit-weighted like elsewhere.

Mapping to a US 4.0 GPA

Because the underlying scale is already close to the US 4.0, an S/A reads as ~4.0, a B as ~3.0, and a C as ~2.0. Still, confirm the exact band cutoffs on the transcript, since a C is a genuine pass in Japan, not a warning grade.

Key takeaways

• Japan grades S/A/B/C/F from marks out of 100; 60 (C) is the pass.
• Many universities now also report a 4.0-scale GPA.
• S/A→~4.0, B→~3.0, C→~2.0 on a US scale.
• Check the transcript key — some schools omit the S band.