Japanvs Russia
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Russia (#2) holds a narrow edge over Japan (#7).
- Russia has nuclear weapons; Japan has none.
- Russia has aircraft carriers; Japan has none.
- Russia fields 7.7× as many tanks.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyRussia leads 4 of 4
- Land forcesRussia leads 5 of 5
- Air powerRussia leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesRussia leads 5 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsRussia leads 2 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
$190B252K
Active personnel
1.32M56K
Reserves
2M25K
Paramilitary
250KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Japan: 1.4% of GDP; Russia: 7.5% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
734
Tanks
5,63054K
Armored vehicles
127K193
Self-propelled artillery
3,603480
Towed artillery
5,92099
Rocket artillery
2,486Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
1,429
Total aircraft
4,237217
Fighters
86147
Attack aircraft
698583
Helicopters
1,643118
Attack helicopters
55610
Tankers
1853
Transports
458Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
158
Total fleet
7470
Aircraft carriers
14
Helicopter carriers
023
Submarines
6641
Destroyers
138
Frigates
120
Corvettes
79Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
0
Warheads
4,4000
Deployed warheads
1,796Compare other countries
Related matchups
- RussiavsUkraine
- United StatesvsRussia
- ChinavsRussia
- ChinavsJapan
- RussiavsPoland
- RussiavsUnited Kingdom
- RussiavsFrance
- JapanvsSouth Korea
Profiles: Japan and Russia. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.