How much does a social worker make in Japan?
Answer: The average social worker in Japan makes $29,444 (¥4.42M) a year (monthly pay × 12 plus bonus, 2025, Japan's Basic Survey on Wage Structure).
Monthly pay $2,029 × 12 + bonus $5,100. Average age 46; about 229,000 people work in this job. About the same as the Japan-wide average ($33,720).
Social worker pay in Japan (2025, averages by company size and sex)
| 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 |
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.
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 social worker do?
What's a typical day like?
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.
How to get this job
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.
Did you know?
Every Japanese prefecture has a disaster welfare team; the 2024 Noto earthquake was the first nationwide deployment of these teams.
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
Healthcare and welfare jobsEarn more in the same field
Healthcare and welfare 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/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