Every year Interbrand Japan publishes its ranking of the top 100 Japanese brands by brand value, using its own Brand Valuation™ methodology. The Best Japan Brands 2025 edition was released in February 2025.
Here are the headline numbers:
- The total brand value of Japan’s Top 100 brands is USD 314.2 billion, up 7.7% from the previous year.
- On average, individual brands in the Top 100 grew by about 4.6% year-over-year.
- 24 brands posted double-digit growth, and 8 of them saw growth in excess of 20%. On the flip side, 8 brands saw double-digit declines.
Top Brands: Toyota, Honda, Sony
The top three brands in 2025 are:
- Toyota — retains #1 for the 17th consecutive year, with a brand value of around USD 72.7 billion.
- Honda — second place.
- Sony — third place.
Some additional top-runners after the top three include:
- Uniqlo (#4)
- Nissan (#5)
- Nintendo (#6)
Rising Stars & New Entries
- ASICS recorded the highest growth rate, up 28% year-over-year.
Six brands made their first appearance in the Top 100:
Tokyo Electron, ITOCHU, Don Quijote, SBI, ANA, and Marugame
- Others with strong moves upward in the ranking include Hitachi, Mitsui Fudosan, ORIX, etc.
What’s Driving Growth — And What’s Holding Back
From Interbrand’s analysis, several factors stand out as strongly correlated with brand-value gains:
- Agility: Brands that can respond quickly to changing market, social, and economic conditions tend to do better.
- Affinity: Emotional connection, shared values with customers, and delivering functional + emotional benefits are key.
- Empathy: Understanding, listening to, and anticipating what customers and stakeholders want, especially as societal expectations evolve.
Also, brands that expand their business in areas rooted in customer-valued practices, that co-create value with customers and stakeholders, or that balance social value (e.g. ESG, sustainability) along with economic returns are performing well.
Conversely, growth is not uniform — some brands are losing value, often because they are slower to adapt or failing to align with evolving societal expectations. The presence of double-digit negative growth in 8 brands demonstrates that decline is possible even among the top ranks.
Broader Trends
- The strength of automotive and electronics sectors continues — many top brands come from these industries.
- There’s increasing importance given to social responsibility, environmental issues, and more broadly ESG-type factors in brand strength. Consumers and stakeholders expect brands to have integrity and purpose beyond just profit.
- New technologies (e.g., semiconductor equipment, AI) and companies in those spaces are getting more visibility and entering the rankings. Tokyo Electron is an example.
Implications & What to Watch
- For established brands (like Toyota, Honda, Sony), staying on top is not just about scale or legacy — it’s about continuously innovating, staying relevant to changing consumer values, and being responsive (both operationally and socially).
- For mid-tier or emerging brands, there is opportunity in double-digit growth if they can align with these new expectations (customer-centred value, sustainability, co-creation, agility).
- Brands that lag in adaptation — whether in product innovation, ESG, or stakeholder trust — risk being overtaken.
- The inclusion of new brands suggests the Top 100 is dynamic; it rewards not just past performance but future potential. Companies investing now in digital transformation, brand strength, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement are likely those to watch in coming years.
Conclusion: Best Japan Brands 2025
Interbrand’s Best Japan Brands 2025 confirms that Toyota, Honda, and Sony remain Japan’s most valuable brands, holding onto their top positions. But more importantly, the overall picture is one of steady growth, with some standout winners and a sharper divide between brands that move with the times and those that don’t. For companies, the message is clear: value is no longer just built on legacy or products alone, but on how well a brand connects, adapts, and contributes to the world as it is changing.
