How much does a machine assembler make in Japan?
Answer: The average machine assembler in Japan makes $30,500 (¥4.58M) a year (monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
Monthly pay $2,065 × 12 + bonus $5,724. Average age 43.3; about 64,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).
Machine assembler pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $30,500 | $34,271 | $22,865 | 43.3 |
| Big company | $38,109 | $40,141 | $30,455 | 41 |
| Mid-size | $26,938 | $31,347 | $20,278 | 42.7 |
| Small company | $25,119 | $28,017 | $20,833 | 46.7 |
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, pay can differ with experience, skills and useful certificates; custom machines may also call for different know-how than repeat line work. Employer rules, company size, location, full- or short-time hours, overtime and weekend work can also matter.
What 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
What does a machine assembler do?
What's a typical day like?
You check the drawing, tools, and parts, then use hand tools and lifts to join a machine’s frame, units, wires, and pipes. You adjust and test it, then may help install it at a customer’s factory.
How to get this job
Japan has no required degree or entry license, though many workers study at a technical high school or vocational school. New hires learn on the job; later, a finishing-skills certificate can prove skill, and crane or welding work may require separate credentials.
Did you know?
A Japanese machine-assembly contest challenged competitors to hand-file 119 surfaces and build a micro-hole machine in 6 hours 50 minutes.
What about the US?
Nearly the same jobJapan'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
Manufacturing and construction jobsEarn more in the same field
Manufacturing and construction jobs that pay a bit moreSources 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
- shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/Occupation/Detail/265
- www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?cycle=0&layout=datalist&page=1&stat_infid=000
- www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/jinzaikaihatsu/ability_ski
- waza.mhlw.go.jp/tyousen/pdf/kigumi.pdf
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY