How much does a social worker make in Japan?
a year · about $15 an hour
The average social worker in Japan makes $29,444 (¥4.42M) 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 check appointments, talk with a person or family about a problem, and may visit a home or hospital. Then they connect the person with services, coordinate with other helpers, and write notes or plan follow-up.
Did you know? Every Japanese prefecture has a disaster welfare team; the 2024 Noto earthquake was the first nationwide deployment of these teams.
Is that a lot?
Compared with jobs you knowWhat 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
How do you become one?
In Japan, study welfare at a university or approved school, then pass a national social-worker exam if your role requires it. Requirements vary; local-government caseworkers may need civil-service hiring, and new hires learn on the job.
Why does pay differ?
In Japan, pay can vary with experience, qualifications, and specialty, as well as the employer’s pay rules. Location, employer size, full-time or part-time work, and night or overtime shifts can also make a difference.
Jobs like this
In the US, a typical social worker makes $71,900 → see more
Data table and sources
| Company size | Everyone | Men | Women | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | $29,444 | $31,659 | $27,952 | 46 |
| Big company | $32,173 | $35,170 | $30,069 | 43.3 |
| Mid-size | $29,723 | $31,864 | $28,332 | 45.4 |
| Small company | $28,462 | $30,609 | $26,953 | 47.5 |
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
- shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/Occupation/PrintAll?occupationId=409
- www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11907000/000598103.pdf
- www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/list/chinginkouzou_b.html
- www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=dataset&data=1&metadata=1&touke
- www.shakyo.or.jp/bunya/saigai/shien/index.html
Data: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY