$Who Earns What

How much does a building engineer make in Japan?

Architectural Engineers

Answer: The average building engineer in Japan makes $45,270 (¥6.79M) 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
$45,270 (¥6.79M)

Monthly pay $3,041 × 12 + bonus $8,774. Average age 43.4; about 373,000 people work in this job. Well above the Japan-wide average ($33,720).

Building engineer pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)

Building engineer pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$45,270$46,963$35,07543.4
Big company$57,365$60,061$43,22542
Mid-size$43,958$45,621$34,66140.4
Small company$39,031$40,439$29,26546.6

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay can vary with experience, relevant licenses, and specialist skills, as well as the size and type of employer. Official wage tables compare workers by experience, employer size, and location; busy deadlines can also bring overtime or weekend work, changing total pay.

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$45,270
Big company$57,365
Mid-size$43,958
Small company$39,031
Men$46,963
Women$35,075

What does a building engineer do?

What's a typical day like?

They meet clients to learn what a building must do, then use CAD to draw plans and check the structure, materials, and building rules. During construction, they visit the site to make sure the work matches the drawings.

How to get this job

In Japan, many study architecture at a technical college or university, then join a design office or construction firm. To become a licensed architect, complete required courses, pass the written and design exams, gain any required work experience, and register.

Did you know?

Tokyo Skytree uses a central stair column as a giant sway-reducing weight, inspired by five-story pagodas—a world-first use of a stair core this way.

What about the US?

Nearly the same job
Building engineer (average)
$45,270
US
Architect (typical)
$99,280

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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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