Japan in the Rankings
Japan is the great runner-up of RList’s rankings. As of October 2026 it tops none of them, but it comes second or third again and again: second to France for Michelin three-star restaurants, owner of the world’s second-largest pension fund (behind only Norway’s oil fund), and the home of three of the ten oldest people ever verified, including Kane Tanaka, who lived to 119.
It also has the third-fastest train (the Shinkansen Hayabusa), three of the world’s ten busiest theme parks and one of the highest life expectancies anywhere. Here is every ranking where Japan makes the top 10.
Where Japan ranks
Japan’s best placing in each ranking where it makes the top 10. Unranked lists show “Pick”.
| Rank | Ranking | Entry | Figure | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | The Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time | Pokémon +2 more in the top 10 | 130.7Estimated lifetime revenue (US$ billions) | Pop Culture & Entertainment |
| #1 | The Largest Volcanic Eruptions in History | Kikai Caldera (Akahoya eruption) | ~170Bulk tephra (km³) | Science & Space |
| #2 | The Countries with the Most Michelin Stars | Japan | 464Total stars | Restaurants & Food |
| #2 | The Largest Pension Funds in the World | Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) | 1,872.1Assets (US$ billion) | Money & Business |
| #2 | The Companies That Own the Most Bitcoin | Metaplanet (3350) | 44,000Bitcoin held | Money & Business |
| #2 | The Asian Countries with the Highest Prostate Cancer Rates | Japan | 50.1Incidence, age-standardised (per 100,000 men) | Health & Medicine |
| #2 | The Longest-Lived People Ever Verified | Kane Tanaka +2 more in the top 10 | 119 years, 107 daysAge (years, days) | People & Abilities |
| #2 | The Countries with the Most Michelin Three-Star Restaurants | Japan | 21Three-star restaurants | Restaurants & Food |
| #3 | The Busiest Airports in the World by Passenger Traffic | Tokyo Haneda (HND) | 91.7Passengers 2025 (millions) | Vehicles & Machines |
| #3 | The Longest Road Tunnels in the World | Yamate Tunnel | 18.20Length (km) | Buildings & Structures |
| #3 | The Largest Indoor Arenas in the World | Saitama Super Arena (GMO Arena) | 37,000Max capacity | Sports & Fitness |
| #3 | The Largest Earthquakes Ever Recorded | Tōhoku (Great East Japan) earthquake | 9.1Magnitude (Mw) | Science & Space |
| #3 | The Biggest Buyers of Korean Beauty Products | Japan | $880.1M2025 exports (US$) | Money & Business |
| #3 | The Fastest Trains in the World | Shinkansen E5/H5 Hayabusa (Tokyo–Shin-Aomori) | 320Max operating speed (km/h) | Vehicles & Machines |
| #3 | The Most Visited Theme Parks in the World | Universal Studios Japan +2 more in the top 10 | 16.002024 attendance (millions) | Pop Culture & Entertainment |
| #3 | The Countries with the Highest Life Expectancy | Japan | 84.7Life expectancy (years) | Health & Medicine |
| #4 | The Countries with the Longest High-Speed Rail Networks | Japan | 3,067Operating length (km) | Vehicles & Machines |
| #4 | The Largest IPOs of All Time | SoftBank Corp +1 more in the top 10 | 21.3Gross proceeds at pricing (US$ billions) | Money & Business |
| #4 | The World's Best Business Class Airlines | ANA +1 more in the top 10 | 42025 rank | Vehicles & Machines |
| #5 | The Countries with the Most Nobel Prizes | Japan | 34Total laureates | Science & Space |
| #5 | The Tallest Statues in Asia | Ushiku Daibutsu — Ushiku (1995) +1 more in the top 10 | 100 mHeight | Buildings & Structures |
| #5 | The Tallest Statues in the World | Ushiku Daibutsu — Ushiku, Japan (1995) +1 more in the top 10 | 100 mHeight | Buildings & Structures |
| #6 | The Largest Banks in Asia by Assets | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group +2 more in the top 10 | $2.72TTotal assets | Money & Business |
| #7 | The World's Best First Class Airlines | Japan Airlines +1 more in the top 10 | 72025 rank | Vehicles & Machines |
| #7 | The Largest Optical Telescopes in the World | Subaru Telescope | 8.2Aperture (m) | Science & Space |
| #7 | The Most Expensive Luxury Train Rides in the World | Train Suite Shiki-Shima (Japan) +1 more in the top 10 | $2,150Cheapest cabin | Vehicles & Machines |
| #7 | The World's Most Liveable Cities in 2026 | Osaka +1 more in the top 10 | 96.0Overall (/100) | Geography & Countries |
| #8 | The Countries with the Most Registered Voters | Japan | 103.5Registered voters (millions) | Geography & Countries |
| #9 | The Most Valuable Brands in the World 2026 | Toyota | $59.5BBrand value | Money & Business |
| #9 | The Most Decorated Olympians of All Time | Takashi Ono (Japan) | 13 (5G)Total medals | Sports & Fitness |
| #10 | The Longest-Reigning Monarchs in History | Hirohito (Showa) | 62.0Reign length (years, as of 2026-10-26) | People & Abilities |
| Pick | Robots of CES 2026: The Ones to Watch | Poketomo | Tech & AI | |
| Pick | Smart Building Tech for Moving People in 2026 | Ville-feuille robot mobility support +1 more on the list | Tech & AI | |
| Pick | Smart Restroom Products in 2026 | TOTO Connect Public +1 more on the list | Tech & AI |
No matching rows.
More in the spotlight
All 34 rankings
The Busiest Airports in the World by Passenger Traffic
Atlanta was the world's busiest airport in 2025 with 106.3 million passengers, ahead of Dubai (95.2M) and Tokyo Haneda (91.7M). The top 20 ranked by ACI World data, as of November 2026.
View ranking →
The Countries with the Longest High-Speed Rail Networks
China runs 50,400 km of high-speed rail, about 13 times Spain's 3,973 km, the world's second-largest network, followed by France, Japan and Germany. UIC definition, 2025 figures, as of October 2026.
View ranking →The Most Valuable Brands in the World 2026
Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2026 ranks Apple first at $514.6 billion, ahead of Microsoft ($443.7 billion) and Google ($389.3 billion). The top 25 brands by estimated brand value, as of October 2026.
View ranking →
The Countries with the Most Michelin Stars
Countries ranked by total Michelin stars (1★=1, 2★=2, 3★=3 per restaurant): France leads with 800, ahead of Japan (464) and Italy (462). Based on Michelin's 2025–26 guide editions, as of October 29, 2026.
View ranking →
The Longest-Reigning Monarchs in History
As of 26 October 2026, France's Louis XIV holds the longest verified sovereign reign at 72.3 years, ahead of Elizabeth II (70.6) and Thailand's Bhumibol (70.3): 17 monarchs ranked, with one still reigning.
View ranking →
The Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time
Ranked by estimated lifetime revenue as of 25 October 2026, Pokémon leads 18 media franchises at about $130.7 billion, ahead of Mickey Mouse at $61.2 billion and Winnie the Pooh at $50.2 billion. Estimates vary widely by source.
View ranking →
The Largest Volcanic Eruptions in History
Kikai's Akahoya eruption and Argentina's Cerro Blanco lead at about 170 km³ of tephra each, ahead of Tambora in 1815: 12 Holocene eruptions of VEI 7, plus VEI 6 since 1800, ranked by bulk tephra volume with date, VEI and location.
View ranking →
The Largest IPOs of All Time
SpaceX's June 2026 Nasdaq listing raised $75.0 billion, nearly three times Saudi Aramco's former record of $25.6 billion: 16 initial public offerings ranked by gross proceeds at pricing, as of 24 October 2026.
View ranking →
The Longest Road Tunnels in the World
Norway's Lærdal Tunnel leads at 24.51 km, ahead of China's Tianshan Shengli Tunnel (22.13 km, opened December 2025): 14 open road tunnels ranked by length, as of October 2026.
View ranking →
The Largest Indoor Arenas in the World
The 14 largest indoor arenas in the world by maximum published capacity as of October 2026, led by the Philippines' KJC King Dome at 75,000 and Philippine Arena at 55,000, with Japan's Saitama Super Arena third.
View ranking →
The World's Best Business Class Airlines
Skytrax's 2026 World's Best Business Class top 20: Qatar Airways and its Qsuite stay #1, ahead of Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and ANA.
View ranking →
The World's Best First Class Airlines
Skytrax's 2026 World's Best First Class top 10: Air France wins for the first time, ahead of Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Emirates.
View ranking →
The Largest Pension Funds in the World
Norway, Japan, the US federal Thrift Savings Plan and Korea each hold more than $1 trillion: a ranking of the 20 largest pension funds by assets, from the Thinking Ahead Institute and Pensions & Investments Global Top 300 study.
View ranking →
The Largest Earthquakes Ever Recorded
The largest earthquakes ever recorded, ranked by moment magnitude from the USGS list: Valdivia, Chile (Mw 9.5, 1960) leads Alaska 1964 (9.2) and a tie at 9.1 for Sumatra 2004 and Tōhoku 2011. As of October 13, 2026.
View ranking →
The Countries with the Most Nobel Prizes
Which countries have produced the most Nobel Prize laureates? The United States leads with 429 through the 2026 announcements, ahead of the United Kingdom (144), Germany (116) and France (79), with a breakdown by prize.
View ranking →The Biggest Buyers of Korean Beauty Products
The US bought $1.75 billion of Korean skincare and make-up in 2025, passing China as the biggest market. Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam complete the top five, and Poland more than doubled its purchases to reach #9.
View ranking →
The Companies That Own the Most Bitcoin
Strategy owns 848,250 bitcoin, about 4% of all that will ever exist and 2.5 times the other 24 companies on this list combined. Next come Metaplanet, Twenty One Capital, MARA Holdings and Strive, with SpaceX at #7.
View ranking →
The Fastest Trains in the World
Passenger trains ranked by the top speed they actually run in regular service — China's Fuxing and Indonesia's Whoosh lead at 350 km/h, and the Shanghai Maglev now runs at 300.
View ranking →
The Largest Optical Telescopes in the World
Operating optical and infrared telescopes ranked by effective aperture, from the 11.8 m Large Binocular Telescope to the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias and the twin 10 m Keck telescopes, plus JWST in space.
View ranking →
The Asian Countries with the Highest Prostate Cancer Rates
New prostate cancer cases per 100,000 men, age-standardised, from IARC's GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates. Cyprus, Japan and Israel lead the 12 highest-rate countries in Asia, using the UN and IARC definition of the region.
View ranking →
The Most Visited Theme Parks in the World
Disney's Magic Kingdom drew about 17.8 million visitors in 2024, the most of any theme park on Earth, and Disney-branded parks fill 10 of the top 15 spots. Rankings are per individual park (Magic Kingdom, not all of Walt Disney World), using 2024 attendance from the Themed Entertainment Association's annual report, the latest edition published.
View ranking →
The Countries with the Most Registered Voters
Countries ranked by the number of people on the electoral roll at their most recent national election. The years differ by country (2023 to 2026), and registered voters are not the same as everyone eligible to vote.
View ranking →
The Longest-Lived People Ever Verified
The 15 longest human lives ever independently validated, led by Jeanne Calment at 122 years, 164 days. Ages follow LongeviQuest, GRG and Guinness validation, with living ages as of October 5, 2026.
View ranking →
The Countries with the Most Michelin Three-Star Restaurants
Michelin three-star restaurants by country, ranked: France leads with 30 (31 with Monaco), ahead of Japan with 21 and a tie between the US and Spain at 16. Counts as of October 4, 2026.
View ranking →
The Countries with the Highest Life Expectancy
Life expectancy at birth, both sexes, from the UN World Population Prospects 2024 (2023 estimates). Monaco and San Marino lead the sovereign states, with Japan the highest large country; non-sovereign territories such as Hong Kong are excluded.
View ranking →
The Largest Banks in Asia by Assets
China's giants dominate — Asia's largest banks by assets.
View ranking →
The Most Expensive Luxury Train Rides in the World
Ranked by each train's cheapest standard cabin or seat, not its top suite.
View ranking →
The World's Most Liveable Cities in 2026
Copenhagen, Vienna and Melbourne lead the EIU's Global Liveability Index 2026 — the world's ten most liveable cities, with their scores for stability, healthcare, culture, education and infrastructure.
View ranking →
Robots of CES 2026: The Ones to Watch
From Boston Dynamics' production-ready Atlas to LG's laundry-folding CLOiD and a stair-climbing Roborock vacuum, the humanoids, home helpers, mowers and companion bots that stole the show at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
View list →
Smart Building Tech for Moving People in 2026
Connected elevators, AI lobby screening, elevator-riding delivery robots and indoor wayfinding: 25 real products that move people and parcels through buildings in 2026.
View list →
Smart Restroom Products in 2026
Connected dispensers, stall-availability lights, odor sensors, touchless fixtures, smiley feedback kiosks and even a bathroom-cleaning robot: 20 real smart restroom products for offices, airports and public spaces in 2026.
View list →
The Tallest Statues in Asia
Nearly every giant on Earth is here — Asia's tallest statues, by figure height.
View ranking →The Tallest Statues in the World
From India's Statue of Unity on down — the world's tallest completed statues, by figure height.
View ranking →
The Most Decorated Olympians of All Time
The athletes who turned the podium into a habit.
View ranking →