[7] The university's faculty and alumni include eight prime ministers of Japan;[8] three prime ministers of Korea;[9][10][11] a number of important figures of Japanese literature, including Haruki Murakami; founders of leading Japanese and Korean companies such as Samsung, Sony, Ito En, Lotte, CJ Group, POSCO; and many CEOs, including Japan's richest person, [12] Tadashi Yanai.

Much of the campus was destroyed in the fire bombings of Tokyo during World War II, but the university was rebuilt and reopened by 1949.

[citation needed] On 12 June 1950, sixty police raided Waseda University and seized copies of a Communist-inspired open letter to General MacArthur.

A police official said most Waseda meetings would be banned in the future because "political elements" might try to utilize them.

In commemorative events relating to Waseda University and Ōkuma, the number 125 is accorded special significance, as it marks an important epoch.

Important events and lectures hosted by Waseda University are often held in the Ōkuma Auditorium.

It is a half-Japanese, half-Western garden of Edo period feudal lord Matsudaira Sanuki's former mansion, redesigned by Shigenobu Ōkuma.

The Waseda University Library, designed by Tachu Naitō, Kenji Imai and Kin'ichi Kiriyama, was completed in 1925.

One of the prominent libraries established at the end of the Taishō period, it has been a symbol of Waseda University to this day, along with the Okuma Auditorium and the Theatre Museum.

It now houses Takata Sanae Memorial Research Library, the University Archives, and Aizu Yaichi Museum.

It is painted on the world's largest hand-made washi (Japanese paper), which is 4.45 meters in diameter and weighs about 12 kilograms.

It was manufactured by Iwano Heisaburō, the founder of the Echizen paper works in Imadachi-cho, Fukui prefecture.

The library possesses a unique collection which survived the Bombing of Tokyo in World War II unlike many of its counterparts.

The Waseda University karate club is one of the oldest in Japan, formed in 1931 under the direction of Gichin Funakoshi.

In 2022, Waseda further strengthened their achievements, claiming victory in all weapon types (Foil, Sabre, Épée) for both men and women's division.

Asahi Shimbun summarized the number of academic papers in Japanese major legal journals by university, and Waseda was ranked 3rd during 2005–2009.

[53] According to the Weekly Diamond on 18 February 2006, Waseda got the highest score from the directors of human resource departments in Greater Tokyo in its Useful University Rankings (役に立つ大学ランキング).

[55] According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings and the PRESIDENT's article on 16 October 2006, graduates from Waseda have the 11th best employment rate in 400 major companies, and the alumni average salary is the 7th best in Japan.

[64][65][66] Nikkei BP has been publishing a ranking system called the "Brand rankings of Japanese universities" every year, composed of various indicators relating to the power of brand, with Waseda achieving top place in 2010 and 3rd place in 2009 in the Greater Tokyo Area.

According to 2020 Nikkei Survey[72] to all listed (3,714[73]) and leading unlisted (1,100), totally 4,814 companies,[72] Waseda is ranked 12th[74] out of 781[75] Japanese universities as of 2020.

Its alumni include influential Chinese government figures such as Zhou Enlai and Li Dazhao.

This connection led to a professional academic collaboration between Waseda and Korea University starting in 1973, culminating in a dual degree program at the bachelor's and master's levels.

Since 2005, this partnership has offered double degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral (Ph.D.) levels, illustrating the university's dedication to international academic collaboration.

[85] According to Japanese media, there are over 3,100 famous individuals known nationwide in Japan who are alumni of Waseda University.

Among the notable alumni of Waseda University have become leading politicians, businessmen, writers, architects, athletes, actors, musicians, scientists, and those that have gained both national and international fame.

Among notable alumni are Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of Sony; Shuntaro Furukawa, president of Nintendo;[86] novelist Haruki Murakami; Prime Ministers of Japan Tanzan Ishibashi, Noboru Takeshita, Toshiki Kaifu, Keizō Obuchi, Yoshirō Mori, Yasuo Fukuda, Yoshihiko Noda and Fumio Kishida; pioneering video artist and experimental filmmaker Kohei Ando; As mentioned above, notable global alumni of Waseda University include Lee Byung-chul and Lee Kun-hee, Chairmen of Samsung; Kim Seong-su, former vice president of South Korea and founder of Korea University; Shin Kyuk-ho, founder of Lotte Group and builder of one of the world's top five skyscrapers, Lotte World Tower.

[87] Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Zhou Enlai co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party; Palme d'Or winning director Shohei Imamura; Tadashi Yanai, founder and CEO of Fast Retailing and the richest man in Japan; Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat who rescued 5,558 Jews during the Holocaust; Shizuka Arakawa, 2006 Olympic Champion figure skater; famed tanka poet Hakushū Kitahara; Doppo Kunikida, Meiji-era novelist and poet noted as one of the inventors of Japanese naturalism; former mayor of Osaka city Tōru Hashimoto; accomplished Major League Baseball player Nori Aoki; and 2014, 2018 two-time Olympic Champion figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu.