How much does a nurse make in Japan?
a year · about $18 an hour
The average nurse in Japan makes $34,981 (¥5.25M) a year, monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, about the same as a typical worker in Japan (average, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
What do they do?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Jobs like this
Kids' questions
In the US, a typical nurse makes $97,550 → see more
Data table and sources
| 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 |
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