Osaka tops national urban competitiveness rankings for fifth straight year

The Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies announced on September 2 the results of its Japan Power Cities (JPC) 2025 evaluation.

The study assessed 136 cities with populations over 170,000 - including government-designated cities, prefectural capitals, and Tokyo’s 23 wards - across six categories: economy & business, research & development, culture & exchange, living & residence, environment, and transportation & accessibility.

A total of 87 indicators, based on public data and surveys, were used to generate scores.

Osaka Retains No. 1 Spot in 2025

Tennoji-Koen in Osaka looking towards Tsutenkaku.  Photo by Paul Cuoco on Unsplash.

Osaka City ranked first overall for the fifth year in a row, driven by strong scores in economy & business and culture & exchange. Hiroo Ichikawa, a foundation board member and professor emeritus at Meiji University, explained:

“Construction investment, cultural exchange, and international events all have positive effects across a wide range of scores. Osaka was already strengthening its position in anticipation of the Expo. While environmental weaknesses remain, the city’s strengths are far more prominent.” 

Top Five Cities

• 2nd: Nagoya City – Maintained its position, with high marks in academics, transportation, and residential living.

• 3rd: Fukuoka City – Up from fifth place last year, thanks to concentrated strengths in business vitality and international exchange. 

• 4th: Yokohama City – Down one spot but praised as a “balanced model city” with no significantly weak scores, excelling in both tourism resources and economic power. 

• 5th: Kyoto City – Slipped one place amid fiscal challenges but continues to stand out as a cultural and academic hub, ranking first in culture & exchange and second in research & development.

Other Notable Rankings

• 6th: Kobe City (unchanged)

• 7th: Sendai City (up from 8th)

• 8th: Kanazawa City (down from 7th)

• 9th: Sapporo City (up from 13th) – benefited from a redefined environmental indicator, with “comfortable temperature days” reframed as “summer coolness,” lifting its environment score dramatically from 129th to 3rd.

• 10th: Tsukuba City (down from 8th)

The top ten lineup showed little overall change compared to last year.

Regional Cities on the Rise

Several regional cities improved notably through urban development and inbound tourism initiatives:

• Morioka City rose from 59th in 2022 to 30th, driven by waterfront development and local business partnerships.

  
  

• Matsuyama City advanced from 59th in 2018 to 33rd, leveraging attractions like Dogo Onsen.

• Okazaki City climbed from 46th in 2020 to 34th, aided by riverfront redevelopment and publicity as a historical drama setting.

Ichikawa noted a challenge for regional areas:

“Inbound tourism remains concentrated in Tokyo and Osaka, with other cities attracting less than one-tenth of those numbers. How regional destinations present their appeal to international visitors is a critical issue.”

Tokyo’s 23 Wards

Among Tokyo’s wards, Minato-ku ranked first overall for the second year running, bolstered by top scores in culture & exchange.

Chiyoda-ku and Chuo-ku followed closely in second and third.

Looking Ahead

Summarizing the results, Ichikawa warned that Japan’s cities face mounting pressures:

“Rapid population decline, aging demographics, deteriorating infrastructure, and environmental change present complex challenges. The record rise in foreign residents and tourists tests cities’ ability to adapt to globalization and multicultural coexistence. Meanwhile, recurring extreme summer heat signals the need for new indicators of environmental resilience and quality of life.”

Sources:

R.E. Port News (Japanese only)

Japan Power Cities 2025 Report (Japanese only; presents more granular data then that summarized above)