Japan
Japan is ranked 22nd overall on the Index. Its strongest score is for HR management (ranked 4th).
Within the HR management indicator Japan achieves the top score out of the top 5 ranked countries for the extent to which performance assessments are used in HR decision making. It also achieves the maximum score for the use of performance related pay. Japan’s scores for all metrics assessing the extent to which recruitment systems are meritocratic are high, most notably for its use of formal examination systems.
Japan achieves above average scores for the openness and integrity attributes. Its capabilities result is a mixed picture but there are some very positive metric scores, for example those relating to numeracy, literacy and writing skills. There may also be a link between these and some HR management scores which may merit further analysis.
The main indicators where Japan’s performance is relatively less strong are (in addition to capabilities) inclusiveness and fiscal and financial management where scores are below average.