Who Earns What

How much does a flight attendant make in Japan?

Flight Attendants
$38,165 (¥5.72M)

a year · about $20 an hour

The average flight attendant in Japan makes $38,165 (¥5.72M) 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?

Before takeoff, the crew briefs with pilots, checks emergency gear, and welcomes passengers. In the air they watch cabin safety, serve food and drinks, help travelers, then inspect the cabin and report problems after landing.

Did you know? A former JAL cabin attendant says crews are trained to skip polite phrases and use short, direct commands in emergencies.

Is that a lot?

Compared with jobs you know
This job$38,165
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$38,165
Big company$39,341
Mid-size$30,713
Small company$33,721
Men$33,599
Women$38,281

How do you become one?

In Japan, many airlines recruit graduates of vocational colleges, junior colleges, or universities; selection can include interviews, aptitude tests, and a medical check. No special national license is usually required, but new hires complete airline safety and service training before flying.

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay differs by airline size and pay rules, experience, and cabin rank or in-house qualifications. Some airlines link part of pay to flight time, so hours flown can change earnings too.

Jobs like this

Kids' questions

Next up

Who earns more?

In the US, a typical flight attendant makes $63,580 → see more

Data table and sources
Flight attendant pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$38,165$33,599$38,28132.7
Big company$39,341$32,847$39,50133.2
Mid-size$30,713$37,582$30,51129.6
Small company$33,721—$33,72140.5

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