$Who Earns What

How much does a office worker make in Japan?

Other General Clerical Workers, NEC

Answer: The average office worker in Japan makes $35,245 (¥5.29M) 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
$35,245 (¥5.29M)

Monthly pay $2,381 × 12 + bonus $6,677. Average age 44; about 951,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).

Office worker pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)

Office worker pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$35,245$45,685$29,11744
Big company$39,745$49,535$32,02744
Mid-size$33,081$41,859$28,29943.9
Small company$26,951$35,561$24,69344.3

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay can vary with experience, the employer’s rules and size, location, and whether someone works full-time or part-time. Computer, bookkeeping, language, or other specialist skills may help someone take on more specialized work, and hours or overtime can affect 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$35,245
Big company$39,745
Mid-size$33,081
Small company$26,951
Men$45,685
Women$29,117

What does a office worker do?

What's a typical day like?

A typical day may include drafting or entering documents, checking information, and filing records, along with calls and email. Depending on the workplace, the clerk may also sort mail, welcome visitors, or order supplies.

How to get this job

In Japan, no degree, license, or set starting age is required; people apply through job sites, Hello Work, or staffing agencies. They can begin with support tasks and learn on the job; optional computer, bookkeeping, or secretary certificates may help.

Did you know?

In Japan’s job classification, a ship’s purser counts as general clerical work—but an airline purser is placed in a different job group.

What about the US?

Nearly the same job
Office worker (average)
$35,245
US
Office worker (typical)
$45,670

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.

Similar jobs

Office, sales and retail jobs

Earn more in the same field

Office, sales and retail jobs that pay a bit more

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