How much does a printer make in Japan?
Answer: The average printer in Japan makes $30,526 (¥4.58M) a year (monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
Monthly pay $2,195 × 12 + bonus $4,182. Average age 44.6; about 126,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).
Printer pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $30,526 | $32,487 | $23,137 | 44.6 |
| Big company | $38,816 | $42,653 | $25,637 | 43.9 |
| Mid-size | $30,693 | $32,652 | $24,577 | 43.8 |
| Small company | $28,597 | $30,241 | $21,573 | 45.2 |
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, pay can depend on experience, the employer’s pay rules and size, location, and whether a printing or bookbinding skill certificate brings an allowance. Full-time or part-time hours, night shifts, busy-season overtime, and the machine or process a worker specializes in can also make a difference.
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 printer do?
What's a typical day like?
Printers check the job sheet, paper and ink, make a test run, adjust color and alignment, then watch the press and inspect the sheets. Bookbinders fold and sort pages, bind and trim them, then check and pack finished books.
How to get this job
Many people in Japan enter after high school, and no special degree or license is required. They learn on the job, starting with simple tasks or one machine, and can later use a related skills test to prove what they can do.
Did you know?
In Japan, printing can put images not just on paper, but on glass, metal, wood, and even round or bumpy surfaces.
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 jobsEarn more in the same field
Manufacturing and construction jobs that pay a bit moreSources 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/360
- shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/Occupation/Detail/361
- www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/chinginkouzou_b.html
- www.e-stat.go.jp/statistics/00450091
- www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/jinzaikaihatsu/ability_ski
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY