Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 734
- Armored vehicles
- 54,390
- Self-propelled artillery
- 193
- Towed artillery
- 480
- MLRS
- 99
2026 military profile
Japan Military Power
Asia · Rank #16 of 145
12.7Strength Scoreout of 100 — #16 globally
How this score is calculatedJapan military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, Japan ranks #16 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 12.7/100. The profile reports 251,500 active personnel, 1,429 total aircraft, 734 tanks and 100 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $58.0B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Navy (25/100); its lowest is Nuclear (0/100). These are relative inventory scores, not assessments of readiness or combat effectiveness.
Profile scope
- Data edition
- 2026
- Indicators
- 29 fields
- Country set
- 145
- Regional rank
- #7 of 29
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
251,500
↑55% vs avg
Reserve troops
56,000
Total aircraft
1,429
↑298% vs avg
Naval assets
100
↑113% vs avg
Defense budget
$58.0B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in Asia
#7
of 29 profiles
Population
123,366,734
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$4.4T
World Bank 2025
Land area
364,569.27 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$470.143
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
2.04
population-normalized
Regional medians
150,000 troops
168 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 1,429
- Fighters
- 217
- Attack aircraft
- 47
- Transport aircraft
- 582
- Helicopters
- 583
- Attack helicopters
- 118
Navy
- Total vessels
- 100
- Aircraft carriers
- 0
- Destroyers
- 41
- Submarines
- 23
- Frigates
- 8
- Patrol vessels
- 6
MSS category profile
Normalized against the largest value in the 2026 country set. The listed weight is each category's contribution to the overall score.
Manpower (25% weight)7/100
Air Force (20% weight)10/100
Navy (15% weight)25/100
Army (15% weight)10/100
Financial (15% weight)6/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare Japan
Japan military power FAQ
What is Japan's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks Japan #16 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are Japan's armed forces?
The current profile reports 251,500 active personnel, 56,000 reserve personnel and 25,000 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean Japan would win a war?
No. MSS summarizes selected inventory and spending figures. It does not model readiness, training, geography, alliances, logistics, doctrine, technology quality or political objectives.