A Japanese think tank has ranked Tokyo third in its list of the world's most attractive cities. The Institute for Urban Strategies has given Japan's capital the same spot for the past 5 years.

The top ranking went to London, which has occupied that position for 9 years running. New York held onto second place.

The gap from the top two down to Tokyo has widened.

The assessment uses 70 indicators in 6 categories to rank 48 major cities.

The categories are economy, research and development, cultural interaction, livability, environment, and accessibility.

In the economy and cultural interaction categories, Tokyo stayed in fourth place. It kept its third-place ranking for research and development.

But in terms of livability, it dropped one spot to twelfth.

Japan's capital is languishing near the bottom of the rankings when it comes to work-style flexibility.

It ranked forty-first on that measure, which looks at how easy it is for people to do their jobs remotely.

The institute says companies need to adopt a more open-minded approach.

Two other Japanese cities are on the list. Osaka ranked thirty-third. That's down four notches. And Fukuoka came in at forty-third, down one place.