How much does a nurse make in Japan?
Answer: The average nurse in Japan makes $34,981 (¥5.25M) a year (monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
Monthly pay $2,439 × 12 + bonus $5,709. Average age 42.1; about 903,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).
Nurse pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $34,981 | $36,800 | $34,741 | 42.1 |
| Big company | $37,991 | $39,650 | $37,760 | 37.6 |
| Mid-size | $33,752 | $35,248 | $33,526 | 44.3 |
| Small company | $31,321 | $33,041 | $31,215 | 46.3 |
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, registered nurses need a national license, and pay may rise with experience; extra specialist training can bring an allowance at some workplaces, but not all. Pay also varies by employer type and size, local pay levels, and night shifts or other schedules.
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 nurse do?
What's a typical day like?
At shift change, nurses hear updates, check patients’ temperature, pulse, and blood pressure, then give medicines or treatments. They help with meals and daily care, record changes, and pass key notes to the next team.
How to get this job
In Japan, after high school, students usually complete a three-year nursing school or a four-year nursing university, with hands-on clinical placements. They then pass the national nursing exam and receive a license, often starting work in their early twenties.
Did you know?
In Japan, nurses can perform 38 special medical actions under a doctor's written procedure; one is changing a ventilator's settings.
What about the US?
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
Healthcare and welfare jobsEarn more in the same field
Healthcare and welfare 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/156
- www.nurse.or.jp/aim/become/
- www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000050325.html
- www.nurse.or.jp/nursing/assets/kangochingin_report_2024.pdf
- www.e-stat.go.jp/dbview?sid=0003445758
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY