Japan holds a 67–33 advantage over Australia on the Relative Advantage Index, a clear margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (64% of the combined total, $62.2bn) and economic size (GDP) (70% of the combined total, $4.0tn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side.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 | Australia | Share | Japan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $35.3bn | 36%64% | $62.2bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $1.8tn | 30%70% | $4.0tn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 60.0k | 20%80% | 247.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 213 | 44%56% | 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 2026-08-04.
Every combination inside the top 30 of the Composite Power Index.
Bordering states — the comparisons people actually search for.