Business climate in Japan
Japan ranks #33 of 54 on the overall business climate (score 53). Its strongest suit is cost of capital, followed by rule of law; the weakest is business taxes.
| Driver | Score | Rank | Measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red tape and ease of doing business | 57 | #36 of 54 | Days to start a business (Doing Business): 12 (2017); Procedures to start a business (Doing Business): 9.00 (2017); Ease of doing business rank (Doing Business, 1 = easiest of 190): 34 (2017) |
| Rule of law and legal certainty | 70 | #19 of 54 | Liberal democracy (V-Dem): 0.73 (2025); Corruption perceptions score (higher = cleaner): 71 (2025); Strength of legal rights for borrowers and lenders: 5.00 (2017) |
| Taxes on business | 27 | #45 of 53 | Corporate income tax rate (headline): 30 (2026); Total tax and contribution rate on commercial profits: 47 (2017) |
| Cost of capital | 82 | #5 of 27 | Real interest rate: 0.97 (2017); Bank lending interest rate: 0.99 (2017) |
| Energy prices for business | – | – | no comparable figure yet |
| Growth momentum and investment trend | 34 | #41 of 53 | Real GDP growth, average of the last five years: 1.31 (2025); Growth trend: last three years against 2015-2019: -0.37 (2025); Foreign direct investment, net inflows: 0.50 (2023) |
Countries with a similar profile
Austria · 
Belgium · 
Germany · 
Slovakia
Find the best business sites in Japan
Open the mapSources as on the business-climate table. Nestlyzer scores each measure 0–100 between the 5th and 95th percentile of the countries it covers. How the method works.