SINGAPORE - The Japanese passport is now the most powerful in the world, after it overtook Singapore in Henley Passport Index's fourth-quarter update, released on Wednesday (Oct 10).

The two countries were previously tied for the top spot.

The Japanese passport offers its citizens visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations, compared with Singapore's total of 189. Japan edged ahead of Singapore after gaining visa-free access to Myanmar earlier this month.

In the latest edition of the ranking, Germany is in third place with South Korea and France. The three countries offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to 188 countries.

Tied for fourth place are Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden and Spain.

In July this year, Japan and Singapore were joint first, with access to 189 destinations after they both gained access to Uzbekistan. Germany had taken second place.

The index, compiled by global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, is based on data from the International Air Transport Association.

It includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.