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Army comparison: Flag of Japan Japan vs Flag of United States United States

United States's army fields 171,065 active vehicles — 38:1 Japan's 4,516. Additionally, Japan has 0 and United States has 12,800 vehicles in storage.

ARMS (Armour and Manpower Rating of Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Japan JapanWorld #24 30.2
ARMS Index / 100

United States leads on 7 of 8 categories

Flag of United States United StatesWorld #1 100.0
  • 479 Main battle tanksweight ×10 · era 2,666+2,000 stored
  • 99 Rocket artilleryweight ×8 · era 1,531
  • 193 Self-propelled artilleryweight ×6 · era 1,521
  • 181 Infantry fighting vehiclesweight ×4 · era 7,724+2,800 stored
  • 480 Towed artilleryweight ×3 · era 1,878
  • 1,003 Armoured personnel carriersweight ×2 · era 5,026+8,000 stored
  • 255 Light armoured vehiclesweight ×2 · era 0
  • 1,826 Protected mobility vehiclesweight ×0.5 · era 150,719
Japan United States Bars: weighted contribution to the ARMS Index (vehicles × category weight × era, active + 0.3 × stored; manpower and the rotary, armament and availability multipliers apply on top) · figures: active vehicles at each side's latest inventory year · Methodology
Key figures as of 2026
Japan United States Ratio
Total vehicles 4,516 171,065 🇺🇸 38×
In storage 0 12,800 🇺🇸
On order 148 12,602 🇺🇸 85×
Main battle tanks 479 2,666 🇺🇸 5.6×
Artillery pieces 772 4,930 🇺🇸 6.4×
Armoured fighting vehicles 3,265 163,469 🇺🇸 50×
Active military personnel (all branches) 247,000 1,326,050 🇺🇸 5.4×
Reserve military personnel (all branches) 55,900 806,700 🇺🇸 14×
Show full breakdown · 5 more rowsHide the 5 extra rows
Infantry fighting vehicles 181 7,724 🇺🇸 43×
Armoured personnel carriers 1,003 5,026 🇺🇸 5.0×
Self-propelled artillery 193 1,521 🇺🇸 7.9×
Towed artillery 480 1,878 🇺🇸 3.9×
Rocket artillery 99 1,531 🇺🇸 15×
Backbone vehicles most numerous in service
🇯🇵 JapanMitsubishi Type 90 ×340AAV-7A1 ×52M270 MLRS ×99
🇺🇸 United StatesM1 Abrams ×2,640IAV Stryker ×4,214M109 Paladin ×1,521
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Frequently Asked Questions

Which country has more armored vehicles, Japan or United States?
United States has a larger ground force with 171,065 vehicles compared to Japan's 4,516 vehicles.
Which country has more tanks, Japan or United States?
United States operates more main battle tanks with 2,666 compared to Japan's 479.
Which army has more infantry fighting vehicles, Japan or United States?
United States has 7,724 infantry fighting vehicles compared to Japan's 181.
Which country has more armored personnel carriers, Japan or United States?
United States operates 5,026 APCs compared to Japan's 1,003.
Which country has more artillery systems, Japan or United States?
United States fields 4,930 artillery systems (self-propelled, towed, and MLRS) compared to Japan's 772.
How do the Japan and United States armies compare in size?
United States's army is 37.9 times larger than Japan's in terms of total vehicles (171,065 vs 4,516).