How much does a nutritionist make in Japan?
a year · about $14 an hour
The average nutritionist in Japan makes $26,935 (¥4.04M) a year, monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, below a typical worker in Japan ($33,720) (average, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
What do they do?
At a school or care home, a dietitian checks menus and ingredients, then helps the kitchen prepare safe meals. At lunch they check portions and special diets; later they record results and plan the next menu.
Did you know? Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force has dietitians at its bases; one used sports nutrition to tailor food advice to soldiers’ training workloads.
Is that a lot?
Compared with jobs you knowWhat 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
How do you become one?
After high school in Japan, graduate from an approved dietitian course and apply to your prefecture for a license. No exam is needed for this license; a separate national exam is required to become a registered dietitian.
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, pay can differ with experience and with advanced or specialist credentials, which may lead to different duties. Employer type and size, location, full- or part-time hours, and shift work also matter.
Jobs like this
In the US, a typical nutritionist makes $76,400 → see more
Data table and sources
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $26,935 | $32,280 | $26,562 | 38.9 |
| Big company | $29,001 | $37,535 | $27,979 | 35.2 |
| Mid-size | $26,447 | $28,661 | $26,317 | 40.1 |
| Small company | $25,965 | $29,143 | $25,798 | 40 |
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/171
- www.hokeniryo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kenkou/kenko_zukuri/ei_syo/menkyo
- www.dietitian.or.jp/students/dietitian
- www.dietitian.or.jp/features/toprunner/20190603.html
- www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/chingin/kouzou/z2025/dl/sokuhou.pdf
- jp.indeed.com/career-advice/pay-salary/how-much-dietitian-earns-introducing-main
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY