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Salary · 給与 · kyūyo

Salaries in Japan: averages, minimum wage and take-home pay

How much people earn in Japan, the 2026 minimum wage, what is deducted from your salary and how much you take home. Plus bonuses, overtime and allowances — and why your take-home pay shrinks in your second year in Japan.

Calculate your take-home pay

How to read a payslip

Checked against the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the National Tax Agency and Kyōkai Kenpo on October 7, 2026 · Taxes for employees · Social insurance

Minimum wage per hour, Tokyo, from October 1, 2026¥1,280

Average monthly pay of foreign workers (2025)¥254,300

Take-home from ¥300,000 (Tokyo, 2nd year)≈79%

Minimum overtime premium+25%

In short

Pay in Japan in five lines

  • The minimum wage is hourly and set by each prefecture: ¥1,280 an hour in Tokyo from October 1, 2026. It applies to everyone, foreigners and part-time jobs included.
  • Contracts state pay before deductions (gross pay, 総支給額, sōshikyūgaku). Health insurance, pension and Employment Insurance premiums and income tax are deducted from it — and from the second year, resident tax.
  • Take-home pay on ¥300,000 in Tokyo is about 83% in the first year and about 79% from the second.
  • Bonuses are not required by law; overtime is paid with a premium of at least 25%.
  • Wages are paid in money, in full, at least once a month on a fixed day. Only deductions allowed by law or by a written agreement with the workers may be taken.

Minimum wage

The minimum wage in Japan in 2026

The minimum wage (最低賃金, saitei chingin) in Japan is hourly. It is revised every year, and each prefecture’s new rate starts on its own date — until then the old rate applies.

Prefecture Per hour From
Tokyo ¥1,280 October 1, 2026 (was ¥1,226)
Kanagawa ¥1,279 October 1, 2026
Osaka ¥1,231 October 1, 2026
Saitama ¥1,196 October 1, 2026
Chiba ¥1,195 October 1, 2026
Hyogo ¥1,172 October 1, 2026
Kyoto ¥1,180 November 16, 2026
Okinawa ¥1,086 December 2, 2026
Miyazaki (the lowest) ¥1,085 October 24, 2026
National average ¥1,177 was ¥1,121
  • The rate of the prefecture where you work applies, not where you live. For a dispatched worker (派遣社員) it is the prefecture of the client company.
  • The minimum wage is binding for everyone: regular employees, part-timers, part-time jobs (アルバイト) and foreign workers.
  • Full-time in Tokyo (40 hours a week) at the minimum wage is about ¥222,000 a month before deductions. A student working the maximum 28 hours a week earns ¥35,840 a week at the minimum rate — the rules: part-time work for students.
  • Some industries have their own, higher minimum rates. The full table is on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website (link in the sources below).

Average pay

Average salaries: the official statistics

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data for 2025 (Basic Survey on Wage Structure, 賃金構造基本統計調査): monthly pay before deductions of full-time workers, without overtime pay and bonuses (所定内給与額, June 2025).

Foreign workers

By status of residence

Status Per month
All foreign workers ¥254,300
Professional and technical statuses (e.g. Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services), excluding Specified Skilled Worker ¥313,200
Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) ¥221,400
Statuses based on family or origin (permanent residents, spouses and others) ¥311,100
Technical Intern Training (技能実習) ¥190,300

First job

Starting pay of new graduates

Education Per month
Graduate school ¥299,000
University ¥262,300
College of technology or junior college (高専・短大) ¥235,500
Vocational school (専門学校) ¥230,700
High school ¥207,300

According to the National Tax Agency, the average pay of employees who worked the whole of 2024 was ¥4.78 million a year (bonuses included). Pay depends heavily on the occupation, your Japanese level and the size of the company.

All these amounts are before deductions — your earnings (収入, shūnyū). Tax forms use another word, income (所得, shotoku): earnings after the deduction for employment income (給与所得控除). Premiums are calculated from earnings, taxes from income.

What is deducted from your salary

From gross pay to take-home pay

Example: Tokyo, base salary ¥300,000, single, under 40, second year in Japan, any month from June to November 2026.

Deduction Employee’s rate Amount
Health Insurance (健康保険, kenkō hoken) 4.925% (Tokyo, Kyōkai Kenpo) ¥14,775
Child and childcare support contribution (子ども・子育て支援金) 0.115% — from pay in May 2026 ¥345
Employees’ Pension Insurance (厚生年金, kōsei nenkin) 9.15% ¥27,450
Employment Insurance (雇用保険, koyō hoken) 0.5% of actual pay ¥1,500
Income tax (所得税, shotokuzei) by the withholding table, after premiums ¥6,340
Resident tax (住民税, jūminzei) from the second year, ≈10% of last year’s income ¥12,500
Take-home pay ¥237,090 (79%)
  • Health insurance and pension premiums are not calculated on your exact pay but on a step of a table, the standard monthly remuneration (標準報酬月額, hyōjun hōshū getsugaku). It is recalculated every September from your average pay in April–June.
  • From age 40 to 64, a Long-Term Care Insurance (介護保険, kaigo hoken) premium is added — 0.81% in 2026.
  • Other prefectures have their own health insurance rate: 4.96% in Kanagawa, 5.065% in Osaka. Health insurance societies of large companies (健保組合) often have lower rates.
  • In your first year there is no resident tax — take-home pay is about ¥249,600 (83%).

Where the numbers come from: every line is calculated step by step on how to read a Japanese payslip. For your own salary, prefecture and family use the take-home pay calculator.

First and second year

Why you take home less in your second year

Resident tax is based on last year’s income. In your first year in Japan there is none; from June of your second year it appears on your payslip.

  1. First yearPremiums and income tax are deducted. On ¥300,000 in Tokyo, about ¥249,600 is left.
  2. January 1The city where you are registered on this day charges resident tax on last year’s income.
  3. From June of the second yearYour employer deducts resident tax for 12 months, June to May. If you earned ¥300,000 a month the whole of last year, that is about ¥12,500 a month, and about ¥237,000 is left.
  4. DecemberYear-end adjustment (年末調整, nenmatsu chōsei) — the yearly recalculation of income tax. In 2026 the basic exemption went up, and the difference for the whole year comes back at this adjustment.

If you did not work in Japan the whole of last year, your resident tax is lower: it is based only on what you earned. Details: resident tax.

Bonuses and allowances

What else can be in your pay

賞与 · shōyo

Bonuses

The law does not require bonuses. If a company pays them, the rules must be in your working conditions or in the rules of employment (就業規則).

The same premiums are deducted from a bonus: health insurance, pension and the child and childcare support contribution (on the amount rounded down to ¥1,000), and Employment Insurance on the full amount. Health insurance counts bonuses up to ¥5.73 million a year, the pension up to ¥1.5 million per payment month.

手当 · teate

Allowances

Allowances — commuting (通勤手当, tsūkin teate), family, housing, position — depend on the company. The commuting allowance counts toward the standard monthly remuneration for health insurance and pension and toward the Employment Insurance premium. Family and commuting allowances are not part of the base for overtime pay.

From October 1, 2026 updated equal-pay rules apply: denying part-time and fixed-term workers a bonus without a proportionate reason can be found unreasonable, and long-term workers are entitled to a family allowance and to sick leave of absence on the same terms if regular employees get them.

Overtime

Premiums for overtime and late-night work

The minimum premiums under the Labor Standards Act (労働基準法). Example for ¥1,500 an hour:

Work Premium Per hour
Overtime (over 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week) +25% ¥1,875
Overtime beyond 60 hours a month +50% ¥2,250
Late-night work, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. +25% ¥1,875
Late-night overtime +50% ¥2,250
Late-night overtime beyond 60 hours a month +75% ¥2,625
Work on a statutory day off +35% ¥2,025
  • Overtime is allowed only if the company has a written agreement with its workers, the Article 36 Agreement (36協定, saburoku kyōtei), filed with the Labor Standards Inspection Office. The normal limit is 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year.
  • The 50% premium beyond 60 hours a month has applied to small companies too since April 2023.
  • Fixed overtime pay (固定残業代, みなし残業): a job ad must state the base pay without it and how many hours and how much it covers. Hours beyond that are paid separately.
  • A “manager” or “store manager” title alone does not remove overtime pay: real authority matters. Managers also get the late-night premium and paid leave.

Pay rules

What your employer must do

  • Five rules: wages are paid in money, directly to you, in full, at least once a month, on a fixed day. Bonuses and one-off payments are exceptions to the last two.
  • Deductions — only taxes and premiums required by law, or items in a written agreement with the workers (for example union fees). A penalty for quitting may not be agreed in advance, and an advance given on condition that you work for the company may not be set off against your wages. Any other deduction, such as a loan repayment, needs a written agreement with the workers.
  • To a bank account — only with your consent. Since April 2023 wages can also go to a payment app approved by the ministry, but only voluntarily and under an agreement at the company.
  • Work stopped for the company’s reasons — at least 60% of your average wage (allowance for absence from work, 休業手当).
  • Unpaid wages can be claimed for 3 years. Free help: the General Labor Consultation Corners (総合労働相談コーナー) and the Labor Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署).

Every deduction is on your payslip — how to read it and what to check.

If you have a family

Spouse, children, parents: what changes

A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.

  • A spouse with a small income lowers your income tax already in the monthly withholding if you list them on the dependents form for your employer (扶養控除等申告書). The 2026 condition: their income after the deduction for employment income is up to ¥950,000.
  • A spouse and children in your health insurance as dependents pay no premiums, and your premium does not go up. The condition: expected income under ¥1.3 million a year (¥1.5 million for ages 19–22, ¥1.8 million from age 60 or with a disability), and under half of your income if they live with you.
  • Resident tax is lower too: the exemption for a spouse is ¥330,000 if their 2025 salary is up to ¥1.23 million (¥1.36 million for 2026 income, as announced by Nagoya for FY2027).
  • The child allowance (児童手当) is paid for each child until March 31 after their 18th birthday, with no income limit: ¥15,000 a month under age 3, ¥10,000 from age 3, ¥30,000 for the third and later children. It is not part of your salary — you apply at your city office.
  • Your take-home pay with your family: the calculator; all the rules: Family and dependents.

Linked to your visa

Your salary and immigration documents

Linked to your visa.

  • When you extend a work status of residence at a category 3 or 4 company, you submit income and tax certificates from your city office (課税証明書 and 納税証明書). They show your annual pay.
  • For the Dependent status your family needs a certificate of employment and the same income and tax certificates of the person who supports them.
  • If you change jobs on a work status of residence, you must notify immigration within 14 days.

Work visas · Dependent visa · Notifications to ISA · Taxes and your visa

FAQ

Salary questions

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Ask us a question

What is the minimum wage in Japan in 2026?

It is hourly and set by each prefecture. From October 1, 2026 it is ¥1,280 an hour in Tokyo, ¥1,279 in Kanagawa and ¥1,231 in Osaka; the national average is ¥1,177. Some prefectures switch later, for example Kyoto on November 16 and Okinawa on December 2.

According to the 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure, full-time foreign workers earned ¥254,300 a month before deductions, without overtime and bonuses. Professional and technical statuses averaged ¥313,200, Specified Skilled Workers ¥221,400 and technical intern trainees ¥190,300.

On ¥300,000 a month in Tokyo, a single employee under 40 takes home about ¥249,600 (83%) in the first year and ¥237,090 (79%) from the second, when resident tax starts. The take-home pay calculator shows your own case.

Yes. It applies to every worker regardless of nationality or type of contract — regular, contract, part-time and dispatched. The rate of the prefecture where you work applies.

No, the law does not require bonuses. If your company pays them, the rules must be written in your working conditions or the rules of employment. Premiums are deducted from bonuses too.

At least 25% on top of your hourly pay, 50% beyond 60 hours of overtime a month, 25% for late-night work from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and 35% on a statutory day off. Fixed overtime pay covers only the hours stated in your contract.

Resident tax is charged on last year’s income, so there is none in your first year in Japan. From June of the second year it is deducted every month — about ¥12,500 on a ¥300,000 salary in Tokyo.

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the National Tax Agency, Kyōkai Kenpo and the Japan Pension Service on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

Results and examples are estimates, not your employer’s payroll. The amounts on your payslip and in your resident tax notice are the ones that count. For a complex case, talk to a licensed tax accountant (税理士) or a Labor and Social Security Attorney (社会保険労務士, sharōshi).

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