Fukuoka and Tokyo were named the best cities in Asia in which to live and work this year, Asiaweek magazine said in its annual ranking.
Tokyo jumped to the No. 1 position in the latest ranking from fourth last year, sharing first place with Fukuoka, which topped the 1999 list, the Hong Kong-based regional magazine said.
Osaka and Taipei, which both ranked No. 2 last year, were downgraded together to No. 4 this year.
Of the 10 best Asian cities, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur have moved up this year to the third, sixth and seventh positions, respectively, from their previous No. 5, No. 9 and No. 8 spots.
Pusan in South Korea, for the first time, made it into the top 10 list, up from last year's No. 15 to this year's No. 10. Among cities moving down the rankings are Bandar Seri Begawan, which slid to No. 7 from No. 6, and Georgetown in Malaysia, which fell to No. 9 from No. 7.
The magazine said its annual survey ranks the quality of living in some 40 Asian cities by factors that include economic opportunity, quality of education, health care, transportation, personal security, housing costs and leisure.
"Asians are increasingly learning to value their heritage and discover the pleasures of living in a neighborhood that still retains much of its cultural heritage," Asiaweek said.
It cited Singapore's Little India as an example of having historic charm while meeting the needs of modern inhabitants. Regional economic meltdown in the 1990s slowed construction work in Asia and thus protected many of the region's oldest properties, the magazine added.
But it said governments should watch out that conservation does not turn pulsing city streets into museums and movie sets and that planners don't essentially create "living theme parks."
"Singapore's renovations sometimes strike locals and visitors as sterile facsimiles of the bustling original," the magazine said.