Who Earns What

How much does a teacher make in Japan?

Other Teachers, NEC
$33,503 (¥5.03M)

a year · about $17 an hour

The average teacher in Japan makes $33,503 (¥5.03M) 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?

The day depends on the role; a cram-school teacher often plans lessons in the afternoon, teaches later, and checks homework and tests. They also help students and families with study plans and next steps.

Did you know? Japan’s wage-statistics label “Other teachers” can include prep-school teachers and driving-school instructors—not only classroom teachers.

Is that a lot?

Compared with jobs you know
This job$33,503
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$33,503
Big company$43,178
Mid-size$33,546
Small company$31,271
Men$34,163
Women$32,355

How do you become one?

Routes differ: in Japan, public-school teachers study in a university teacher-training program, earn a license, and pass a hiring exam. Cram-school teachers generally need subject knowledge rather than a teaching license; specialist trainers may need a job-specific license.

Why does pay differ?

In Japan, pay can vary with experience and subject specialty or license, as well as the employer’s type and size. Region and work pattern matter too: full-time staff may be paid differently from part-time teachers who teach only certain lessons, including evenings or weekends.

Jobs like this

Next up

Who earns more?

In the US, a typical teacher makes $66,140 → see more

Data table and sources
Teacher pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex) — Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
Company sizeEveryoneMenWomenAge
Any size$33,503$34,163$32,35546
Big company$43,178$43,712$42,63445.3
Mid-size$33,546$35,125$30,92645.6
Small company$31,271$31,954$29,87546.5

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