$Who Earns What

How much does a nursing assistant make in Japan?

Nursing Assistants

Answer: The average nursing assistant in Japan makes $22,472 (¥3.37M) 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
$22,472 (¥3.37M)

Monthly pay $1,605 × 12 + bonus $3,208. Average age 48.7; about 109,000 people work in this job. Below the Japan-wide average ($33,720).

Nursing assistant pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)

Nursing assistant pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$22,472$24,507$22,03648.7
Big company$23,667$28,129$23,23150
Mid-size$22,203$24,083$21,71148.3
Small company$21,894$24,036$21,46348.3

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay can differ with experience, and some hospitals favor applicants with care qualifications. It also depends on the hospital’s size and type, the area, full- or part-time hours, and whether or how often someone works nights.

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$22,472
Big company$23,667
Mid-size$22,203
Small company$21,894
Men$24,507
Women$22,036

What does a nursing assistant do?

What's a typical day like?

After a morning team huddle, they wheel patients to tests or rehab and make beds or clean the ward. At lunch they serve meals and help patients eat; later they restock supplies and sort paperwork.

How to get this job

In Japan, you can apply for a nursing assistant job without a set school degree or qualification. Once hired, you learn on the job under nurses’ direction; some hospitals also let people try the work beforehand.

Did you know?

With nurses, nursing assistants may turn patients at set times to help prevent bedsores.

What about the US?

Same job
Nursing assistant (average)
$22,472
US
Nursing assistant (typical)
$42,260

Japan's figure is the average and the US figure is the median. Prices and exchange rates matter too, so it's a rough comparison.

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Healthcare and welfare jobs

Earn more in the same field

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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