Aug 30, 2026
Japan's low ranking on the 2026 Smart Cities Index
It felt almost absurd when I initially saw Tokyo ranked 98th and Osaka 102nd out of 148 cities in the 2026 IMD Smart City Index. After all, this is the country of bullet trains, convenience stores that can do almost anything, incredibly reliable public transport, and technology woven into everyday life. Then I thought about it a bit more, and I could kinda understand why.
As a foreigner, I often find that Japan ends up being efficient without necessarily being smart. Things work, remarkably well in fact, but they don't always work in ways that feel designed around the citizen.
For instance, there's still such a big reliance on paper forms, hanko stamps, in-person procedures, and so forth. Even highly advanced organizations often have annoyingly analog processes.
The IMD ranking measures residents' perceptions of infrastructure, technology, mobility, health, opportunities, and governance, not just how technologically advanced a city looks. That distinction makes Japan's ranking much easier to understand, I think!
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