🇯🇵 Japan: Politics & Democracy
Yes — with a V-Dem liberal democracy score of 73.4 (on a 0–100 scale), Japan ranks among the world's strong liberal democracies.
Current leaders
Naruhito
Head of State
Sanae Takaichi
Head of Government · Liberal Democratic Party
Democracy trend
Upcoming elections
2026 Yokohama mayoral election
2026-10-18T00:00:00ZVoting alignment
Japan's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:
Frequently asked questions
Is Japan a democracy?
Yes — with a V-Dem liberal democracy score of 73.4 (on a 0–100 scale), Japan ranks among the world's strong liberal democracies. It ranks #24 of 179 countries in 2025.
Is democracy in Japan improving or declining?
Japan's V-Dem liberal democracy score fell by 0.6 points over the past decade (a decline on this index), standing at 73.4 in 2025 (1-year change: −0.3).
Who leads Japan?
Naruhito is Japan's head of state; Sanae Takaichi serves as head of government (Liberal Democratic Party).
When is the next election in Japan?
2026 Yokohama mayoral election is scheduled for 2026-10-18T00:00:00Z.