Japan vs Taiwan Military Comparison

Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.

Japan

Taiwan

Japan

200K active troops $50B budget

Taiwan

200K active troops $20B budget

579

Tanks

1,180

3,137

Armored Vehicles

3,275

658

Artillery

1,585

Rocket Systems

117

297

Fighter Jets

288

622

Helicopters

300

155

Warships

Submarines

Nuclear Budget vs GDP Personnel Air Force Naval All Metrics

Nuclear Arsenal

Japan

NON-NUCLEAR

0 WARHEADS

Taiwan

NON-NUCLEAR

0 WARHEADS

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

No defense budget data yet for Taiwan. Run rake data:defense_budget:update to populate.

Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)

Military Active Personnel

Japan

LARGEST

247.15K TROOPS

Taiwan

66.0% OF LARGEST

163K TROOPS

Japan 247.15Ktroops

LARGEST

Taiwan 163Ktroops

66.0% of largest

Japan has 1.52× the active personnel of Taiwan

Full Military comparison →

Air Force Total Aircraft

Japan

LARGEST

1.45K AIRCRAFT

Taiwan

57.8% OF LARGEST

837 AIRCRAFT

Japan 1.45Kaircraft

LARGEST

Taiwan 837aircraft

57.8% of largest

Japan has 1.73× the aircraft of Taiwan

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Total Naval Assets

Japan

LARGEST

155 VESSELS

Taiwan

56.1% OF LARGEST

87 VESSELS

Japan 155vessels

LARGEST

Taiwan 87vessels

56.1% of largest

Japan has 1.78× the naval assets of Taiwan

Full Military comparison →

Land Forces — Detailed Metrics

Metric	Japan	Taiwan
Active Personnel	247,150	163,000
Reserve Personnel	56,000	1,657,000
Total Military Personnel	303,150	1,820,000
Defense Budget (USD)	$49,100,000,000	$16,800,000,000
Tanks	579	1,180
Armored Vehicles	3,137	3,275
Self-Propelled Artillery	166	405
Towed Artillery	492	1,180
Rocket Projectors	99	117

Air Force — Detailed Metrics

Metric	Japan	Taiwan
Total Aircraft	1,449	837
Fighters	297	288
Attack Aircraft	287	0
Transport Aircraft	192	40
Trainer Aircraft	447	209
Helicopters	622	300
Attack Helicopters	119	91

Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics

Metric	Japan	Taiwan
Total Naval Assets	155	87
Aircraft Carriers	4	0
Destroyers	36	4
Frigates	10	22
Corvettes	6	1
Submarines	22	4
Patrol Vessels	6	44
Mine Warfare Vessels	22	12

See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison. View full Japan vs Taiwan comparison →

Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research. Last updated June 2026. Sources & methodology