Japan

Analysis

Japan is a middle power in Asia.

Japan is the third most powerful country in Asia. In 2022, its score declined by 1.4 points, continuing the trend of relative Japanese decline since the inception of the Asia Power Index.

The country scores best in economic capability, and all four influence measures, where it places third. However, its score across all these measures declined over the past year.

The biggest decline for Japan was in its weakest measure, resilience, where it dropped two places to 11th. Japan’s only improvements were in its military capability and future resources, where it rose one place to sixth and fifth, respectively.

In 2022, Japan recorded a small improvement in its military capability for the first time, reflecting its changing regional role and slow emergence as a more prominent regional security actor.

Tokyo continues to be the quintessential smart power, using the country’s limited resources to wield broad-based influence in the region. Japan exerts more influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s positive power gap score. But while Japan is the standout net overachiever in Asia, its positive power gap deteriorated further in 2022, suggesting that it may not be able to outsmart declining power resources forever.

Read more analysis in the Key Findings report. Explore further results in the Scores section.