Japan shut out of Asia’s 50 Best Bars top 10 for first time

Japan’s presence at Asia’s 50 Best Bars continued to shrink this year, with just three establishments making the 2026 top 50 — half as many as last year and the country’s weakest showing since the rankings began.

At Tuesday night’s Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 awards ceremony at Wynn Palace in Macau, Virtu, Punch Room Tokyo and Bar Libre were the only Japanese bars to place in the top 50.

The result also marked the first time since the inaugural edition of the rankings in 2016 that Japan failed to place a bar in the top 10. Punch Room Tokyo was the highest-ranked Japanese bar at No. 23, climbing from No. 36 last year. Virtu landed at No. 26 after slipping from No. 18, while Bar Libre jumped from No. 49 to No. 39.