The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity of potential prognostic parameters of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) recommended by the 2012 International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Consensus Conference in the Japanese population. We reviewed 406 Japanese patients with localized or locally advanced ccRCC who underwent curative surgery during 2004-2014 at Tokai University Hospital (Isehara, Japan) and were followed up for >2 years after surgery. A single pathologist reviewed all the histological slides. Morphological subtype and pathological T stage were reassigned according to the 2016 World Health Organization and TNM classifications. Sarcomatoid differentiation (SD), rhabdoid differentiation (RD), tumor necrosis (TN) and microvascular invasion (MVI) were assessed according to the 2012 ISUP recommendations. Nuclear grade was reclassified according to both the Fuhrman and the ISUP grading systems. Recurrence‑free survival (RFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were assessed through univariate and multivariate analyses. According to the Fuhrman grading system (group Fuhrman), TN and MVI were independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence in the multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model. According to the ISUP grading system (group ISUP), TN and MVI were independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence. In group Fuhrman, age, Fuhrman grade and TN were independent risk factors for CSS. In group ISUP, age, ISUP grade, and TN were independent risk factors for CSS. Furthermore, the group that was upgraded from Fuhrman grade 2 to ISUP grade 3 exhibited poorer CSS compared with the group that was reclassified from Fuhrman grade 2 to ISUP grade 2 (non-upgraded). Regardless of the nuclear grade, TN remained an independent predictor of RFS and CSS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to prove the correlation between the 2012 ISUP recommendations and clinical outcomes in a Japanese ccRCC cohort. TN and upgrading to ISUP grade 3 were found to be potentially useful independent indicators of postoperative prognosis.