Who Earns What

How much does a machine inspector make in Japan?

Machinery Inspection Workers
$34,852 (¥5.23M)

a year · about $18 an hour

The average machine inspector in Japan makes $34,852 (¥5.23M) 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?

They take parts from the production line, look and feel for damage, and measure them with calipers or gauges. They record results, test whether machines work as designed, and pass checked items to the next step.

Did you know? In Japan, a skills test can ask you to measure a screw using three thin wires—and check a micrometer for tiny errors.

Is that a lot?

Compared with jobs you know
This job$34,852
Typical worker$33,720
Elementary teacher$49,011
Doctor$100,817
Cashier$25,651

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$34,852
Big company$40,675
Mid-size$33,422
Small company$26,188
Men$37,924
Women$25,205

How do you become one?

In Japan, no specific school qualification is usually required, though a technical high school course in machinery helps. Many learn on the job or move from production into inspection; passing the national skills test earns the title of skilled worker in machinery inspection.

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay can differ as experience leads to harder checks or team-leader work; a machinery inspection certificate can help with hiring. Employer size and industry, location, specialty, shift work, and overtime also affect what people earn.

Jobs like this

Next up

Who earns more?

In the US, a typical quality inspector makes $48,570 → see more

Data table and sources
Machine inspector pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$34,852$37,924$25,20543.7
Big company$40,675$41,591$34,96743.6
Mid-size$33,422$36,916$23,89043
Small company$26,188$29,974$20,30046.6

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