The Japan Kennel Club (JKC) is Japan's main pedigree registry and its member of the FCI. Each year it publishes how many dogs of each breed were newly registered with it. In 2025 it registered 302,530 dogs across 141 breeds. The Poodle came first with 69,342 registrations, followed by the Chihuahua and the Dachshund.
The JKC itself stresses that these are one year of new registrations, not the number of dogs living in Japan. Mixed breeds and dogs that were never registered are not counted. The JKC also counts all sizes of Poodle as one breed and all sizes of Dachshund as one breed, and this list follows that practice.
Top 10 breeds in 2025
No. 1: Poodle
Almost all are Toy Poodles: 66,189 of the 69,342 Poodles the JKC registered in 2025.
No. 2: Chihuahua
The smallest recognized breed: bold, loyal and closely attached to its favorite person.
No. 3: Dachshund
The JKC counts all three sizes together: 23,097 Miniature, 7,373 Kaninchen and 145 Standard Dachshunds in 2025.
No. 4: Pomeranian
The toy-sized German Spitz: a lively fluffball with a thick coat and a watchful nature.
No. 5: Miniature Schnauzer
A small, sturdy and alert dog with a beard and eyebrows and a wiry coat that needs regular trimming.
No. 6: Maltese
A tiny, gentle companion with a long white coat that sheds little but needs daily care.
No. 7: French Bulldog
A compact, flat-faced companion with bat ears, happy in small homes but sensitive to heat.
No. 8: Yorkshire Terrier
A tiny terrier with a big personality and a fine, silky coat that needs regular grooming.
No. 9: Bichon Frise
A cheerful little dog with a curly white coat that needs regular grooming and plenty of company.
No. 10: Shih Tzu
A small, friendly lap dog with a long coat and a short face, content with short walks.
Reading this year’s list
Every breed in Japan's top 10 is a small or toy dog. There is no retriever, shepherd or hunting dog on the list, and no Japanese breed such as the Shiba Inu either. Together the top 10 account for 227,890 registrations, about three quarters of the national total.
The size breakdown makes the picture even clearer. Of the 69,342 Poodles, 66,189 were Toy Poodles. There were only 2,521 Standard, 372 Medium and 260 Miniature Poodles. The Toy Poodle alone had about 20,000 more registrations than the Chihuahua in second place. Among Dachshunds, 23,097 were Miniature and 7,373 were Kaninchen, the smallest size, with just 145 Standard Dachshunds.
The gap between Japan and the European lists is striking. In Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, larger working and sporting breeds fill many places. In Japan, the dogs that register in large numbers are lap-sized companions, with the French Bulldog in seventh place as the sturdiest breed in the group.
About the No. 1 breed: Poodle
- Size
- Toy
- FCI group
- 9 · Companion and toy dogs
- Origin
- France
Temperament
Toy Poodles are bright, lively and strongly attached to their people. They learn quickly and enjoy tricks and games. Most are friendly, though some are wary of strangers and quick to bark at noises. Because they bond so closely, it helps to teach them early, in small steps, that being left alone for a while is normal.
Size and build
The Poodle comes in several sizes, but Japan's Poodles are almost all Toy Poodles. Under the FCI standard the Toy stands roughly 24 to 28 cm at the shoulder, and most weigh around 2 to 4 kg. A Standard Poodle, by comparison, is a much larger dog.
Daily care
The coat keeps growing, so it needs brushing several times a week and a professional trim roughly every four to six weeks. In the rainy season and humid summer, dry the coat well after walks and watch for signs of overheating. Short daily walks plus indoor play are usually enough. Reward-based training and early socialization help keep barking under control in shared buildings.
Who it suits
Apartment dwellers, first-time owners and older people who want a small, trainable companion and will budget for regular grooming. It is less suited to homes with very young children, who may drop or step on a toy dog, or to people who are away most of the day.
Health in general terms
Toy Poodles can have kneecaps that slip out of place (patellar luxation), inherited eye diseases such as progressive retinal atrophy, and crowded teeth that build up tartar early. Skipping on a back leg, bumping into things or bad breath are worth raising with a vet. Ask a breeder whether the parents had eye examinations and knee checks, and start brushing your dog's teeth while it is young.
This is general breed information, not medical advice. Ask a veterinarian about your own dog, and ask any breeder about the health tests used for the parents.
Why the Poodle is popular in Japan
The JKC publishes the figures without giving reasons for the Poodle's lead. The breed's traits suggest why the Toy Poodle in particular fits well. It is very small, easy to carry, and happy to spend most of its time indoors. Its curly coat sheds very little, which many owners appreciate in a shared living space.
Many people in Japan's cities live in apartments or compact houses, and a dog that is quiet, trainable and small suits that kind of home. The Toy Poodle is also one of the easiest breeds to train, so it adapts to indoor routines and to walks on busy streets. Its coat can be clipped into many styles, which gives owners a lot of choice in how their dog looks.
What these rankings measure
National kennel club breed rankings are registration rankings, not a census of the dogs living in each country. Only purebred puppies registered with the national kennel club are counted. Mixed-breed dogs, dogs from shelters and most dogs bred outside the club system never appear. Rules and fees differ between clubs, so the numbers are best compared within one country, not across countries.
Useful tools
See also: Green pheasant: National Bird of Japan