Japan vs Russia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Japan
200K active troops
$50B budget
VS
Russia
900K active troops
$200B budget
579
Tanks
12,420
3,137
Armored Vehicles
30,122
658
Artillery
14,145
99
Rocket Systems
3,391
297
Fighter Jets
789
622
Helicopters
1,543
155
Warships
605
22
Submarines
70
Nuclear Arsenal
Russia
LARGEST
5,580
WARHEADS
Japan
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Russia
LARGEST
900K
TROOPS
Japan
27.5% OF LARGEST
247.15K
TROOPS
Russia has 3.64× the active personnel of Japan
Air Force Total Aircraft
Russia
LARGEST
4.17K
AIRCRAFT
Japan
34.7% OF LARGEST
1.45K
AIRCRAFT
Russia has 2.88× the aircraft of Japan
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Japan
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 247,150 | 900,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 56,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 303,150 | 3,350,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $49,100,000,000 | $154,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 579 | 12,420 |
| Armored Vehicles | 3,137 | 30,122 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 166 | 6,574 |
| Towed Artillery | 492 | 7,571 |
| Rocket Projectors | 99 | 3,391 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Japan
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 1,449 | 4,173 |
| Fighters | 297 | 789 |
| Attack Aircraft | 287 | 1,391 |
| Transport Aircraft | 192 | 445 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 447 | 496 |
| Helicopters | 622 | 1,543 |
| Attack Helicopters | 119 | 544 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Japan
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 155 | 605 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 4 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 36 | 15 |
| Frigates | 10 | 11 |
| Corvettes | 6 | 86 |
| Submarines | 22 | 70 |
| Patrol Vessels | 6 | 65 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 22 | 47 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
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Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology