Geographic information system (GIS) education in Japan lags far behind that in Western developed countries. As such the development of systematic GIS education in Japanese universities, including the preparation of a GIS standard curriculum, becomes an urgent issue. This article examines the present situation and recent trends of GIS education in geographical departments of Japanese universities. Information about 202 courses offered in 39 universities was collected and analysed. The results indicate that there are mismatches between the current draft of the Japan Standard GIS Core Curriculum and the actual situation of GIS education in terms of the length of courses, the number of classes and course style. The results of this study provide useful information to facilitate the effective implementation of the core curriculum for GIS. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)