In the “2024 City Cost of Living Rankings” recently released by Mercer, a major US consulting firm, Tokyo’s ranking has dropped sharply from the previous year (19th) to 49th in the world. Because the survey was conducted in dollars, the impact of the weak yen and strong dollar on the exchange rate outweighed rising prices, and Japanese cities such as Osaka dropped in the rankings across the board. The drop in ranking is likely to work in favor of attracting visitors and investment in Japan.

Hong Kong was ranked as the world’s most expensive city for the second consecutive year, followed by Singapore in second place as in the previous year. Both cities saw notable increases in rent and home purchase prices.

The top six places are all Swiss cities: Zurich in third place, Geneva in fourth place, Basel in fifth place, and Bern in sixth place.

Tokyo’s ranking dropped by 30 places from 2011. In 2012, Osaka was 146th, Yokohama was 154th, and Nagoya was 161st, all of which were large drops in ranking from the previous year. Osaka’s drop in ranking (53 places) was the fifth largest in the world. (Kyodo News)