HEAD TO HEAD
China vs Japan
Verdict
China holds a 80–20 advantage over Japan on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (84% of the combined total, $336bn) and economic size (GDP) (82% of the combined total, $18.7tn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side. Those factors are excluded and the remaining weights renormalised, never substituted.
Factor by factor
| Factor | China | Share | Japan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $336bn | 84%16% | $62.2bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $18.7tn | 82%18% | $4.0tn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 2.0m | 89%11% | 247.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 402 | 60%40% | 270 | 20% |
Shares are each side's portion of the combined total for that factor. Weights are renormalised across the factors both sides publish — see the methodology. Data read 2026-10-22.
