An image processing apparatus is provided. The image processing apparatus includes an acquiring device configured to acquire a typical pixel value corresponding to a noted region in an image, a calculating device configured to calculated index values of variances in pixel values in the noted region or in both the noted region and a region adjacent to the noted region, a first enhancement degree determination device configured to determine an enhancement degree according to the acquired typical pixel value and each of the calculated index values, and an image processing device configured to perform high-frequency enhancement processing on the noted region, based on the enhancement degree determined by the first enhancement degree determination device.