How much does a tunnel digger make in Japan?
a year · about $15 an hour
The average tunnel digger in Japan makes $29,287 (¥4.39M) a year, monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, about the same as a typical worker in Japan (average, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
What do they do?
After a work briefing, the crew drills or blasts rock and hauls the loose rubble out in trucks. They stabilize the new tunnel face with sprayed concrete and rock bolts, then repeat the digging cycle.
Did you know? At Japan’s Gorigamine Tunnel, a special rig carried six rock drills—twice the usual three—and used a computer to aim them.
Is that a lot?
Compared with jobs you knowWhat if you were…
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How it changes with age
Tap an age to update the number above (Any company size, men and women combined)
How it changes with company size
How do you become one?
In Japan, people often enter after junior or senior high school, learn on site after safety training, and must be adults for underground work. No special school credential is needed; workers add machine-operation or tunnel-supervisor qualifications as they gain experience.
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, pay can rise with experience and recognized tunnel or machine-operation qualifications. It also varies by employer size and type, region, specialist tasks such as blasting, and night shifts or overtime.
Jobs like this
In the US, a typical mining worker makes $57,010 → see more
Data table and sources
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $29,287 | $29,422 | $21,659 | 52.5 |
| Big company | $45,401 | $45,401 | — | 36.6 |
| Mid-size | $34,834 | $35,019 | $26,797 | 45.3 |
| Small company | $28,264 | $28,400 | $20,673 | 53.8 |
Source: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 (regular workers, by occupation) (e-Stat). Yearly pay = monthly contractual cash earnings × 12 + annual bonus. Averages for regular workers at firms with 10+ employees. Public employees (teachers, police, firefighters) and company executives are not in this survey. e-stat.go.jp
Pages used for the text
- shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/Occupation/Detail/32
- www.mlit.go.jp/tec/content/001891290.pdf
- www.jrtt.go.jp/construction/technology/tunnel.html
- www.mlit.go.jp/totikensangyo/const/content/001378339.pdf
- www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/chinginkouzou_sankou_a.html
- jsite.mhlw.go.jp/hyogo-roudoukyoku/hourei_seido_tetsuzuki/roudoukijun_keiyaku/ne
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY