Press freedom in Japan
Japan: Press freedom was 2 in 2016. ▬ Flat
Latest (2016)
2
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 194 countries
All-time high
2
in 1979
All-time low
2
in 1979
Years of data
36
1979–2016
Press freedom in Japan, 1979–2016
Source: Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Japan recorded 2 for press freedom in 2016. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, press freedom in Japan peaked at 2 in 1979 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1979.
Japan ranks 1st of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 1 Andorra 2 compare
- 1 Australia 2 compare
- 1 Austria 2 compare
- 1 Bahamas 2 compare
- 1 Barbados 2 compare
- 1 Belgium 2 compare
- 1 Belize 2 compare
- 1 Canada 2 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
- 1 Chile 2 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
- 1 Cyprus 2 compare
- 1 Czechia 2 compare
- 1 Denmark 2 compare
- 1 Dominica 2 compare
- 1 Estonia 2 compare
- 1 Finland 2 compare
- 1 France 2 compare
- 1 Germany 2 compare
- 1 Grenada 2 compare
- 1 Iceland 2 compare
- 1 Jamaica 2 compare
- 1 Kiribati 2 compare
- 1 Latvia 2 compare
- 1 Lithuania 2 compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 2 compare
- 1 Mauritius 2 compare
- 1 Monaco 2 compare
- 1 Netherlands 2 compare
- 1 New Zealand 2 compare
- 1 Norway 2 compare
- 1 Palau 2 compare
- 1 Papua New Guinea 2 compare
- 1 Portugal 2 compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 2 compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 compare
- 1 Samoa 2 compare
- 1 San Marino 2 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 1 Slovakia 2 compare
- 1 Slovenia 2 compare
- 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
- 1 Spain 2 compare
- 1 Suriname 2 compare
- 1 Sweden 2 compare
- 1 Switzerland 2 compare
- 1 Taiwan 2 compare
- 1 Tonga 2 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
- 1 Tuvalu 2 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
- 1 United States 2 compare
- 1 Uruguay 2 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 2 compare
More social development data for Japan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 42,450 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 56 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.924 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.925 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.734 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.526 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.925 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is press freedom in Japan?
- Press freedom in Japan was 2 in 2016, according to Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest press freedom recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1979.
- What is the lowest press freedom recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1979.
- How does Japan rank for press freedom?
- Japan ranks 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2016.
- Is press freedom rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Press freedom. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the classification and data by Freedom House. It captures the legal, political, and economic environment of the press.