Military Power.net

Japanvs Pakistan

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Japan (#7) holds a solid edge over Pakistan (#14).

  • Pakistan has nuclear weapons; Japan has none.
  • Japan has destroyers; Pakistan has none.
  • Japan spends 5.2× as much on its military.
  1. People and moneyPakistan leads 3 of 4
  2. Land forcesPakistan leads 5 of 5
  3. Air powerJapan leads 4 of 7
  4. Naval forcesJapan leads 4 of 7
  5. Nuclear weaponsPakistan leads 1 of 2

Leads count raw numbers in each category. Larger is not always stronger: a modern fleet can beat a bigger, older one.

People and money

Who can be put in uniform, and how much is spent keeping them there.

$62.2B
Military spending
$11.9B
252K
Active personnel
660K
56K
Reserves
550K
25K
Paramilitary
500K

Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Japan: 1.4% of GDP; Pakistan: 2.9% of GDP).

Land forces

Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.

734
Tanks
2,677
54K
Armored vehicles
59K
193
Self-propelled artillery
662
480
Towed artillery
2,629
99
Rocket artillery
652

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

1,429
Total aircraft
1,397
217
Fighters
331
47
Attack aircraft
90
583
Helicopters
379
118
Attack helicopters
55
10
Tankers
4
53
Transports
63

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

158
Total fleet
120
0
Aircraft carriers
0
4
Helicopter carriers
0
23
Submarines
8
41
Destroyers
0
8
Frigates
9
0
Corvettes
6

Nuclear weapons

Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.

0
Warheads
170
0
Deployed warheads
0

Compare other countries

Related matchups

Profiles: Japan and Pakistan. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.