$Who Earns What

How much does a sales clerk make in Japan?

Sales-Related Clerks

Answer: The average sales clerk in Japan makes $35,009 (¥5.25M) a year (monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).

Average yearly pay of people doing this job in Japan
$35,009 (¥5.25M)

Monthly pay $2,352 × 12 + bonus $6,785. Average age 43.3; about 931,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).

Sales clerk pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)

Sales clerk pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$35,009$42,579$29,83843.3
Big company$38,387$48,344$31,25343.5
Mid-size$33,693$38,938$30,16542.1
Small company$30,315$35,850$26,78244.5

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay can vary with experience, skills, the employer’s industry and size, and the duties you handle. Full-time, part-time, contract or temp status, location, hours, and special product or language knowledge can also matter; no license is required for the job.

What if you were…

In Japan, age and company size matter most

Pick 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

Any size$35,009
Big company$38,387
Mid-size$33,693
Small company$30,315
Men$42,579
Women$29,838

What does a sales clerk do?

What's a typical day like?

They check the sales team’s emails, prepare quotes, and answer customer questions. Then they check stock and delivery dates, arrange fixes for shortages, enter orders, and write a daily report.

How to get this job

In Japan, you can apply after high school, vocational school, junior college, or university; no specific degree or license is required. New hires usually learn the company’s system and procedures through on-the-job training, and there is no set exam or apprenticeship.

Did you know?

A sales clerk in Japan may ask the legal team to check a contract for mistakes or legal problems—not just prepare sales paperwork.

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Sources 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

Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY