Japan – Country Performance, Brand Strength and Reputation

Japan is known for its ancient traditions, modern innovations, and cultural richness. Admired for iconic landmarks like Kyoto’s historic temples and Tokyo’s cutting-edge technology hubs, the nation proudly showcases its diverse cultural and technological heritage as central elements of its global image.

But how does one of the world’s most developed economies perform in global rankings that measure talent attraction potential, public diplomacy, soft power strength, and environmental sustainability? What influence have recent political developments had on the international reputation of Japan?

Let’s take a closer look at:

• Japan’s soft power and brand strength
• Its appeal to skilled labour, investors, and visitors
• The country’s global contribution to peace and wellbeing
• How well it fares in terms of happiness and sustainability

Country Brand Strength and Reputation

In the U.S. News Best Countries 2023 ranking, Japan secures the 6^th position, behind Australia (5^th) and the US (4^th). Notably, it excels in two key areas: entrepreneurship (3^rd), assessing technological expertise, digital infrastructure, and a skilled labour force; and cultural influence (5^th), which analyses trendiness, modernity, and strength of consumer brands. The country maintains its position from the previous year.

The Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brand Index (NBI) calculates its ranking based on averaging the scores of six different factors: exports, governance, tourism, culture, people, and immigration. According to the NBI 2023 ranking, Japan secures the 1^st position, jumping one place from the previous ranking. This is a huge success for the country, as Germany (2^nd) held the first position for many years.

The Expat Insider 2023 notes Japan ranks in the bottom ten (44^th), grouped with fellow weak performers such as Germany and Turkey, in terms of expats’ satisfaction. However, the country performs well in the Healthcare (7^th) and Quality of Life (12^th) metrics.

As per the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2023, Japan secures the 13^th position for FDI inflows in 2022, trailing behind Mexico (10^th) and Spain (11^th). This marks a jump of two positions compared to its 2021 ranking. Its FDI inflows increased to USD 33 billion, the highest ever recorded for the country. In terms of FDI outflows, Japan ranks 2^nd in 2022, another jump of two positions from 2021. Overall, Japanese outflows increased by 10% between 2021 and 2022.

The Bloom Consulting biannual Country Brand Ranking Trade Edition 2022-2023 assesses investment-related variables, emphasising perceptions of a country’s trade-specific brand and evaluating branding performance. Regionally, Japan makes a remarkable leap to the 5^th position after previously holding the 9^th spot. This shift is likely due to its low inflation rate, transparent regulatory system, and advanced technology, research, and development. Globally, Japan secured the 16^th position, a jump of fourteen positions from the previous ranking.

In addition, the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism Edition 2022-2023 places Japan at the 6^th global position, advancing two spots from the previous year and trailing behind Germany (4^th) and the UK (5^th). This upswing is believed to be attributed to improvements across the board, with particularly positive results for its touristic appeal and social media performance. Regionally, Japan now holds the 1^st position, climbing two places from the previous ranking, thanks to its increase in tourism receipts.

In the IMD 2023 World Competitiveness Ranking, Japan secured the 35^th position, showing a slight shift from its 34^th ranking in 2022 and 30^th in 2021. Currently, it sits just behind France (33^rd) and Indonesia (34^th) while surpassing Spain (36^th) and Kazakhstan (37^th).

In terms of specific characteristics, Japan ranks 26^th in economic performance, dropping six positions from the 2022 ranking. It holds the 42^nd position for government efficiency, experiencing a drop of three positions compared to 2022. The country jumps four positions to the 47^th position for business efficiency, and holds the 23^rd spot for infrastructure, dropping one position from 2022.

How Attractive for Talent?

The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index 2019 edition placed Japan at an impressive 6^th position among 141 countries. However, it’s important to note that an updated version of this report hasn’t been released in the past five years, and rankings may have shifted since then.

Japan, classified as a high-income country within the Eastern/South-Eastern Asia & Oceania regional group, currently holds the 26^th position in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023. Notably, it ranks best in the Enable pillar (9^th) while the Attract pillar presents its biggest challenge where it ranked 42^nd.

In terms of education excellence, Japan boasts two universities within the top 100 worldwide, according to the World University Rankings 2024. These esteemed institutions are: The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.

Soft Power Influence

The Global Soft Power Index 2024 ranks Japan 4^th, driven by strong reputation, perceptions towards Business & Trade, Education & Science, and Sustainable Future.

This year’s research includes several new metrics relating to Sustainable Future. Germany stands first in terms of environmental sustainability, followed by Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway. But Japan leads the ‘Sustainable cities and transport’ metric, one of the most important sustainability-linked drivers of soft power—likely driven by its reputation for exceptional public transportation.

As a travel destination, Japan has room for further leveraging its strong perceptions to drive tourism performance, since arrivals per population rank lower than among competitor nations.

Japan a “Good” Country?

In the CAF World Giving Index 2023, Japan secured the 139^th position, at the fourth bottom position. Japan performs best in the subfactor of helping a stranger with 21% of its adult population. However, this marks a significant decline as in 2022 the country ranked 118^th.

In the Good Country Index, Japan currently holds the 34^th position overall, with notable subfactors as follows: Science & Technology (70^th), Culture (49^th), International Peace & Security (23^rd), World Order (77^th), Planet & Climate (44^th), Prosperity & Equality (27^th), and Health & Wellbeing (15^th). It’s worth mentioning that in 2022, Japan was ranked 26^th, and in 2021, it held the 24^th position. While the country has experienced an overall drop in its ranking, there have been significant increases in the Prosperity & Equality and International Peace & Security factors.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Democracy Index 2023, Japan ranked in the blue zone (8-9 range) with an 8.33 out of 10. This is higher than South Korea (8.03) and the United Kingdom (8.28).

The 2022 Corruption Perception Index ranks Japan 18^th, tying with Belgium and the United Kingdom. Its score has maintained the same since 2021.

The Sustainable Development Report 2023 ranks Japan 21^st. It highlights that the country continues to face significant and major challenges in quite a few of the 17 SDGs. However, the factors of Quality of Education and Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure have both reached SDG achievement status while the No Poverty factor is on track.

Environmental Sustainability

The 2022 edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks Japan 25^th. The EPI analyses the performance of 180 countries, scoring and ranking these countries on their environmental performance using the most recent year of data available, as well as providing calculable changes in scores over the previous decade. Japan has experienced a positive change in score of 3.2.

Peace and Happiness

The Global Peace Index 2023 ranks Japan 9^th, maintaining its position from the previous year, meaning it sits in the very high sector of the ‘State of Peace’ spectrum as defined by the Institute for Economics & Peace. Japan sits between Slovenia (8^th) and Switzerland (10^th). The country is positioned 3^rd regionally amongst its fellow Asia-Pacific countries, led by New Zealand and Singapore.

The Institute for Economics & Peace similarly ranks Japan within the medium impact zone in terms of ‘Impact of Terrorism’ in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index. It ranks 62^nd, sitting between Austria (61^st) and Saudi Arabia (63^rd).

Meanwhile, the World Happiness Report 2023, which displays the Ranking of Happiness based on a three-year average (2020–2022), ranks Japan 47^th.

Last updated in December 2023. More country profiles here.

Enjoyed our summary of global rankings and indices on Japan’s economic performance, its sustainability, attractiveness for investors and talent, its country brand strength and reputation? Thanks for sharing!

Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended to provide a general overview of Japan’s economic and cultural landscape and facilitate comparison over time. While we strive for accuracy and completeness, we are not responsible for any typographical errors or inaccuracies. The data is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. Users should verify any information before relying on it for decision-making purposes.