How much does a electrician make in Japan?
Answer: The average electrician in Japan makes $41,874 (¥6.28M) a year (monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
Monthly pay $2,743 × 12 + bonus $8,954. Average age 41.6; about 220,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).
Electrician pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $41,874 | $42,136 | $30,684 | 41.6 |
| Big company | $50,196 | $50,646 | $33,319 | 38.8 |
| Mid-size | $37,252 | $37,548 | $30,695 | 43.6 |
| Small company | $36,387 | $36,525 | $26,122 | 43.3 |
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, more experience and higher licenses can open the way to bigger jobs, and pay also varies with employer size and location. Work hours, overtime, and specialty matter too; railway electrical work may happen at night.
What if you were…
In Japan, age and company size matter mostPick a company size, sex or age to see that group's average here.
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
What does a electrician do?
What's a typical day like?
They read a plan with their crew, then run wires and fit lights, outlets, or electrical panels at a building site. Afterward, they test the circuits and record the results.
How to get this job
In Japan, many train at an electrical high school, vocational school, or job-training center, or learn through a company apprenticeship; then they pass written and hands-on tests for the Second-Class license. To get the First-Class license, they pass its exam and gain at least three years of practical experience.
Did you know?
In Japan, passing the First-Class Electrician exam is not enough to get the license: you also need at least three years of practical work.
What about the US?
Nearly the same jobJapan's figure is the average and the US figure is the median. Prices and exchange rates matter too, so it's a rough comparison.
Similar jobs
Manufacturing and construction jobsSources and data
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/46
- www.shiken.or.jp/construction/second/overview
- www.meti.go.jp/policy/safety_security/industrial_safety/oshirase/2021/02/2021021
- www.e-stat.go.jp/dbview?sid=0003447838
- www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/chinginkouzou_b.html
- jobhouse.jp/construction/columns/2306
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY