Tokyo remained fourth out of 40 major cities in an annual global city ranking released Thursday, trailing London, New York and Paris.
The latest Global Power City Index, compiled annually by the Institute for Urban Strategies at the Mori Memorial Foundation since 2008, assesses 70 indicators in six categories: economy, research and development, cultural interaction, livability, environment and accessibility.
"Though Tokyo came in fourth place, the same as last year, in the overall ranking, the city improved to sixth from eighth in the cultural interaction category," said Hiroo Ichikawa, a professor at Meiji University's Graduate School who helped compile the ranking.
Ichikawa said the hefty increase in the number of foreign travelers to Tokyo last year contributed to the improvement in its cultural interaction rating. The capital drew 6.81 million tourists from overseas in 2013, up 22.5 percent from the previous year.
Tokyo topped the list in the economy category and came in second in research and development, but ranked a lowly 17th in livability, ninth in environment and 10th in accessibility.
Ichikawa said that despite the high economy ranking, Tokyo could stand to improve its market attractiveness and regulatory environment.
One way to improve the poor score in accessibility, meanwhile, would be to increase the number of flights to and from Japan, he said.
Tokyo should take advantage of the 2020 Summer Olympics to improve on its weak areas, Ichikawa added.
Rounding out the top 10 was Singapore in fifth place, followed by Seoul, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong and Vienna.