Tokyo has become the world's most innovative city overtaking London and New York in the Innovation Cities Index rankings in 2018. London was ranked first and New York second in the 2017 list.
Innovation Cities Index, which judges cities on 162 indicators including web censorship, wealth distribution and the potential for green businesses, is the world's largest global city ranking in which 500 cities around the world are classified and ranked.
Among Indian cities, Mumbai was ranked 92, down two places compared to 2017; Bangalore 139 (+37); Delhi 199 (-14); Chennai 252 (+30); Hyderabad 316 (+19); Ahmedabad 345 (-3); Pune 346 (+6); Kolkata 383 (-33); Jaipur 393 (+18); Surat 424 (-11); Lucknow 442 (-12); Kanpur 448(+8); and Madurai 452 (+17).
Tokyo bagged the top spot for embracing cutting-edge innovative trends of robotics and 3D manufacturing.
The Japanese capital has rapidly risen since it entered the top 10 ranking behind Paris (France) three years ago and is one of the three cities, the other being Singapore (6) and Sydney (10), from Asia to make up the top 10. Seoul (South Korea) was ranked 12.
Christopher Hire, director, 2thinknow, the commercial data provider which publishes the list, says they were surprised by the resurgence of Tokyo which moved up eclipsing cities like Boston.
"Tokyo showed clarity in embracing smart technology innovation which will enable them to take the leadership role in what will be long-term globe-shaking trends of 3D manufacturing and robotics," said Hire.
The top five included New York and San Francisco while smaller US cities such as San Diego, Portland and Oakland got good ranking underlining their attractiveness to tech companies, which find the San Francisco Bay area too expensive.
Europe lost a lot of ground this year with fewer cities in the top 100 compared to previous years.
Japan has always been a trendsetter when it comes to adopting new technology.
It has launched facial recognition technology ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 and has invested in artificial intelligence for hospitals, vehicles and financial services.
