The 2025 Brand Ranking of Municipalities in Japan Revealed

Daito Trust Construction, headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, led by President and CEO Hiroshi Takeuchi, has conducted an extensive brand survey that gathered responses from over 180,000 participants. This study culminated in the publication of the "2025 Brand Ranking of Municipalities in Japan."

Understanding the Brand

Professor Philip Kotler, a leading figure in marketing theory at Northwestern University, defines a brand as a name, term, design, or a combination of these that identifies a seller's goods or services and distinguishes them from competitors. The survey evaluated about 18 municipalities nationwide, collecting ten responses from each participant regarding their perception of various municipalities outside their own residential areas. A critical metric used, known as the Image DI (Diffusion Index), is calculated as the percentage of positive impressions minus the percentage of negative impressions, combined with awareness rates to produce the rankings.

Top-Ranked Municipalities

Leading the 2025 rankings is Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture, followed closely by Kamakura City in Kanagawa, Otaru City in Hokkaido, Hakodate City also in Hokkaido, and Sapporo City, the capital of Hokkaido. It's notable that three of the top five municipalities are from Hokkaido, which is renowned for its stunning landscapes and cultural sites.

Rising to prominence in the rankings are Miyakojima City in Okinawa, which climbed from 15th to 6th place, and Nikko City in Tochigi Prefecture, which moved up to 9th from 17th place last year. Recognition rates for the top ten municipalities hover around 90%, with high Image DI scores ranging from 40% to 50%. However, while some municipalities outside the top 100 also maintain high awareness rates of nearly 90%, they generally lack favorable Image DI scores, which do not typically exceed the 30% mark. Notably, there are a few municipalities with a negative Image DI score, although these are rare.

Municipalities Making Strides

Interestingly, several municipalities that are not traditional tourist destinations have made remarkable progress this year. For example, Uji City in Kyoto Prefecture (famous for Uji tea) ranked 25th, Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture (a hub for academia and research) ranked 29th, Imabari City in Ehime Prefecture (known for Imabari towels) ranked 36th, Ashiya City in Hyogo Prefecture (noted for its high-end residential areas) ranked 40th, and Uonuma City in Niigata, known for its Koshihikari rice, ranked 49th.

Most significantly, Osaka City jumped from an unspecified position (below brand deviation value of 50) to 241st this year. This surge is attributed to the impact of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which has not only yielded economic benefits but has also significantly enhanced the city’s brand recognition.

Survey Overview

Methodology

The survey was conducted by Macromill, with questionnaires distributed and collected online among its registered monitors.

Respondents

Participants included 182,805 individuals aged 20 and above residing in all 47 prefectures of Japan, covering 1,890 municipalities.

- Gender Distribution: Male (55.2%) / Female (44.8%)
- Marital Status: Unmarried (38.3%) / Married (61.7%)
- Children: None (42.7%) / Have Children (57.3%)
- Age Distribution: 20s (8.9%), 30s (16.6%), 40s (22.9%), 50s (26.8%), 60s (18.1%), 70s (6.6%)

Survey Period

The survey was conducted from February 21 to March 10, 2025, with a total of 182,805 responses collected.

Research Team

The survey planning, question design, and analysis were conducted by Ken Munetaka, a fellow at Daito Trust's Future Living Research Institute, with questionnaire distribution handled by Macromill.

Answer Method

Respondents were randomly displayed municipalities (excluding where they reside) and asked to select from one of six options that best described their experience or perception of the municipalities.

Branding is assessed using the Image DI score, reflecting the difference between positive and negative perceptions combined with recognition rates.

For more insights and details, visit the Sumicoco website or the press release page.