Average salaries for Young Professionals in Japan

How much income can you earn in Japan? Detailed information about typical salaries in Japan for your age group lets you know what to expect and plan ahead.

(※This article was first published in August 2018 and last updated on March 5th, 2021.)

Age・Profession・Industry・Region・Trend・More

Total average salary

The average yearly salary in Japan in 2020 was 4.09 million JPY (37,200 USD). This result is based on a 2020 survey by job board provider doda with a sample size of around 400,000 answers. The highest-paying job type was investment banker (at an average 8,1 million JPY) and the highest-paying industry – unsurprisingly – investment consulting (at an average 6.7 million JPY).

This figure, however, lumps together the incomes of all people regardless of age, position, or gender. Especially when you are at the start of your carer, it does not give you a realistic estimate of how much you will make. Luckily, the doda survey is very detailed, so let’s look into it a bit more.

Average income in Japan by age

Japanese graduates start their first job in their early 20s. Accordingly, there is a strong increase in income of around 30% in the late 20s, after a few years of work experience.

In 2020, the average yearly salary for a Japanese employee in their 20s was 3.4 million JPY (31700 USD). Men made 3.7 million yen on average, women 3.2 million.

Age	Total
	Total	Male	Female
20	279	309	256
21	280	305	259
22	283	295	272
23	294	309	281
24	323	340	306
25	346	385	340
26	365	385	340
27	382	407	350
28	394	421	358
29	404	432	363
30s	444	484	377
40s	510	573	403
50s	613	661	431

This annual salary is before taxes and inclusive of bonus payments. Japanese companies usually pay a bonus twice a year. How high these payments are heavily depends on the company. For realistic estimates of monthly salary, divide by 12-16.

The income distribution among employees in their 20s is highly concentrated around ¥3,000,000 per year. Most companies will hire fresh university graduates at roughly the same starting salary, regardless of their position or skills. This is because the first 1-2 years are considered a training period by most employers. To get a higher starting salary, you’ll have to apply to a mid-career position (中途入社, ちゅうとにゅうしゃ).

With age and experience salaries increase. In their 30s, around 60% of employees in Japan have annual incomes of more than ¥4,000,000.

Income by profession

The more specialized the profession, the higher the income you can expect. This rule of thumb also holds true for Japan. However, compared to the USA and some other countries, there is a less pronounced spread in incomes.

Job	Total	Male	Female	20s
Professionals (Consulting, Auditor, etc.)	601	638	509	497
Management, Planning	516	570	437	395
Electrical, Electronics, Mechanics	461	471	368	381
IT, Communications	452	469	395	372
Sales	442	468	378	378
Construction, Engineering	428	441	364	372
Finance	426	584	358	343
Medical, Science, Food	411	444	370	351
Creative	381	422	348	320
Administration, Assistant	332	391	317	303
Retail, Services	329	358	298	298

Income by industry

It is no secret that some companies pay better than others, but which industries offer the most generous salaries in Japan? The huge presence of general trading companies is a Japan-specific thing, but aside from that the numbers more or less equal to what you’d see in other industrialized nations.

Industry	Total	Male	Female	20s
Manufacture, Maker	453	492	366	372
Finance	448	540	370	372
General Trading	446	487	376	367
IT, Communications	444	471	386	370
Medical	426	510	357	346
Construction, Real Estate	418	451	349	367
Internet, Advertising, Media	407	448	364	352
Specialized Trading	406	443	343	352
Services	369	405	338	326
Retail, Dining	353	390	309	308

Income by region

In metropolitan areas with lots of industry, salaries tend to be higher. The salary is one reason why that many people want to work in the Kanto area. Despite considerable differences in salary by region, it seems that the percentage of income used on living expenses is relatively constant, regardless of where one lives in Japan.

Area	Total
	Total	Male	Female
Kanto	429	478	366
Tokyo	444	496	386
Kanagawa	430	483	355
Chiba	412	461	341
Ibaraki	408	445	336
Tochigi	403	439	323
Saitama	406	452	336
Yamanashi	393	424	321
Gunma	383	417	317
Tokai	400	442	325
Aichi	402	446	327
Gifu	386	426	311
Mie	391	429	316
Shizuoka	405	441	327
Kansai	389	436	328
Kyoto	377	425	323
Shiga	400	442	324
Osaka	386	432	329
Nara	386	434	318
Hyogo	401	449	331
Wakayama	380	419	317
Chugoku/ Shikoku	381	416	316
Ehime	372	403	315
Okayama	379	416	312
Hiroshima	382	420	318
Kagawa	379	415	311
Kochi	370	396	317
Yamaguchi	391	426	310
Tottori	378	394	340
Shimane	374	400	310
Tokushima	377	418	316
Hokushinetsu	376	409	311
Niigata	362	388	306
Ishikawa	383	418	311
Nagano	383	415	314
Toyama	379	417	315
Fukui	384	421	308
Hokkaido/ Tohoku	371	404	310
Iwate	377	404	314
Miyagi	373	413	311
Yamagata	358	381	307
Akita	366	388	312
Aomori	366	393	310
Fukushima	386	417	315
Hokkaido	367	400	309
Kyushu/ Okinawa	369	407	310
Okinawa	348	383	291
Miyazaki	360	388	305
Kumamoto	370	406	303
Saga	368	398	315
Kagoshima	360	395	296
Oita	367	398	300
Nagasaki	370	406	303
Fukuoka	372	414	314

Average income trend

According to Japan’s National Tax Agency, the average salary in Japan 2019 was ¥4,364,000 ($40,426). It was the first decrease in seven years. News sources attributed the 1% drop to decreasing salaries at companies with 100 and fewer employees, which make up a huge part of Japan’s corporate landscape. The yearly reports are released in September each year, so there’s no data for 2020 out yet.

In the recent years, Japan has been coming out of a “salary slump” that reached its low point in 2009 as a result of the 2007-2008 financial crisis (or Lehman shock, as it is called in Japan). After 10 years, salaries have now more or less recovered to their pre-crisis levels.

More on income

Gender Wage Gap

A significant gender gap across all professions and age groups is apparent in the data, which cannot be explained away by mothers and housewives (this study only considers full-time employment).
According to recent OECD data from 2019, women in Japan earn 23.5% less than the median wage of their male counterparts. This puts Japan into the bottom three of all OECD member countries, only topped by South Korea at 32.5%. The United States are in the middle at 18.5%, and European countries like Denmark are leading the wage equality movement at 5% and lower.
One significant reason for this gap is the small number of women in managing positions.

Minimum wage

Minimum wage in Japan is not decided on a national level but set by each prefecture. An industry-based minimum wage system also exists. The average minimum wage in Japan is ¥902/hour and at an all-time high.

The highest minimum wage is paid in Tokyo at ¥1013/hour. It’s lowest in Okinawa, Akita, and other rural prefectures at ¥792/hour.

Salary raise

Aside from your job and skills, time at the company and age are factors that companies take into account when setting salaries and give raises. In your first year, it is not unusual to get a raise of only a few ¥1,000 per month. This will increase exponentially with your performance and time at the company.

Bonus payments

Bonus payments are common in many Japanese companies and are typically paid once or twice per year. Similar to the raise, don’t expect too much during your first year. How much bonus one receives depends on the employee’s performance and standing, as well as the company’s profits. As a rough average, for professionals, up to 4 months’ salary can be expected as annual bonus payments (before taxes).

More details

Find out more about your net income by looking into the tax system in Japan (taxes have been rising, but are still relatively low). For information about salaries at specific companies, look at Japanese company review sites like OpenWork, where users share their positions, income, and additional information about their experiences.