So how much money do people make in Japan?
We were talking about salaries on Facebook the other day, and someone posted this fascinating website.
I’ve always wondered about salaries here in Japan, and how much ‘normal’ people make, so the website was a wonderful find.
Here are some highlights (all data is from 2017):
- average salary in Japan: 4.22 million yen
- average salary for a public servant: 6.33
- average salary for men: 5.21
- average salary for women: 2.8
- average salary for non-seishain: 1.72
- average salary in Tokyo: 6.12
- average salary in Aomori: 3.77
- average starting salary for high school graduate: 2.58
- average starting salary for university graduate: 3.25
Funnily enough, my salary is about the average for a public servant. Makes sense as I am roughly half-way through my working life.
What do you think? Are you surprised by these numbers? How does your salary measure up?
Wages are surely lower than in the past few decades I have been in Japan. Taxes are much higher and I was never one to go by gross salary but let me know the net amount. For example a good friend of mine works at one of the huge international companies in Japan. 15mJPY annually but with other factors this year the company accountant put him down as 18.2mJPY but remember to deduct:
1. 40% income tax (over 18mJPY)
2. 8% ward tax
3. 8% consumption tax
4. ¥250,000 rent a month for 50m2 for him and partner
5. ¥32,000? a month for NHI
After working his 10-15 hour days he said last week that he broke even in 2017…doing the same job in Singapore or HKG would give him more than 40% more income as tax rate is 7.8% for the same gross salary.
If he was under 18MJPY, the tax rate would have been 33% or 7% less.
If retirejapan is making 6mJPY a year that is a tax rate of 20% + ward + NHI + ? – now I know why so many have left Japan for SIN or HKG – for the money they make taxes and work hours will make you sick before you make any actual profits.
If your friend “broke even” with a 18M salary, or even with a 15M salary, there’s only one thing to say: either he is the breadwinner for a family of 10, or he is just very, very bad with money.
But since you mentioned has “a partner”, I assume no family. So that person is just bad with money.
I know these people, they’re my expat friends. They only “break even” on their 10 million+ salary. They don’t mention that they bought a car which is a complete luxury in tokyo, or that they eat out every day for 1000Yen+ lunches, drink beers like there is no tomorrow in expensive pubs, footing a daily bill of 5000 Yen just for alcohol, only buy expensive food to eat the same food as their home country, go night clubbing every week, refuse to walk but instead take a taxi everywhere they go, subscribe to a “hawaii mineral water” delivery service because they don’t trust tap water, and buy the latest iPhone every year because they deserve it. Starbucks every day, gym membership, and on, and on, and on…
A couple without kids, making 15M yen in Tokyo and just “breaking even” has only themselves to blame, let’s be serious for a minute.
That, or your friend is just BS’ing you.
That reply was brilliantly written and the sentiment was *exactly* what I was thinking. That guy needs to eat more soba and buy less cars!
Robert Walters posts an annual salary survey for Japan professionals here. I cannot speak for other industries but the number ranges seem fairly accurate (at least from my chosen industry and profession). The 2017 results are here: https://www.robertwalters.co.jp/content/dam/robert-walters/country/japan/files/salary-survey/E-Book2017.pdf
The numbers don’t surprise me, but are a good reminder to me that I have a very high salary, even for Tokyo.
My base salary matches the robert walters doc sent by EyesWideShut above. The fine print says the salaries mentioned in the doc don’t include bonuses or other incentives. So when I read that a Senior Developer in Finance makes 19 Millions, I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually make closer to 30 or 40 millions when everything is accounted for!
Not sure if those numbers include bonuses and other compensation but I think the salary ranges are primarily weighted towards Japanese employees (as they make up the vast majority of professionals here). My first hand experience tells me that foreign professionals tend to make more than their Japanese colleagues so that may account for why your salary is above the range.
From experience, I’d say that on average, good senior developers in Finance are probably around 20-25mn with bonus; hard to get over that until you get to Executive/Managing Director class running a huge team.
If you’re front office (sales/trading) you may make some multiple of that tho.
Wow, that’s still a lot, especially compared to the average, but even in absolute!
Your friend with total combined income of Y18m isn’t paying 40% tax. That’s the tax bracket for income over 40%, so 40% would only be applied to 0.2mn. Basically his income tax comes out to about 33-34%, and I seriously question why the accountant is pushing the guy’s taxable salary to 18mn on a cash salary of 15mn.
Hong Kong and Singapore are great for taxes, but not -that- great. For your friend, 17% in Hong Kong, 20% in Singapore IIRC. Flip side, you have to live in Hong Kong. I lived there for four years, and while the food was amazing, I would never ever go back to live there again no matter how enticing the tax system was.
And housing expense-wise, your friend would be paying a lot more for a lot less in either Singapore or Hong Kong…
If you add up the taxes and expenses for an apt – he lives a very simple life and does not spend a lot due to working all the time aside.
Here is a tax guide that is correct for salary over 18mJPY – it was a few extras that pushed him over 18mJPY – btw, I think those numbers are hard to find in Tokyo anymore. Great paying work has gone to HKG or SIN. I know of too many that have left for that part of the world as their companies moved there due to taxes. Link for taxes is here: http://www.tytoncapital.com/investment-advice/how-can-i-reduce-my-tax-bill-in-japan/?utm_content=buffer23f0a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer
“average salary for men: 5.21”
An hour out of Tokyo, older daughter was within a hair of that for 2016. She was 27 then.
I was truly surprised/gobsmacked (I do her US taxes), but I guess that’s where applied chemistry will get you.
I just find it hard to accept those averages knowing how poorly paid people I know are in Okinawa in Fukuoka.
They are government figures apparently, but I guess it depends on how accurate they are and how they were collected.
On the other hand Okinawa is the poorest region in Japan, and there are probably a lot of high earners in large metropolitan areas pulling the average up.
You can dig into the number on the site and search by area, by job, by age.
Always interested in stats like these so thanks for posting!
I’m guessing this is without bonuses which I’ve heard can be quite high for salary workers and maybe twice a year? Curious to know but haven’t asked my Japanese friends yet.
But this is all taxable income and subject to other deductions too so I see why there is pressure on the government to try and raise wages.
I believe these are annual gross salaries including bonuses.
It’s all relative imo.
If you’re making less than average but get home at 5 or 6 and spend time with your family & friends, isn’t that better than making 10m+ a year and not spending any time with family & friends?
Some of the most successful people I know have the most strained domestic relationships.
Hello Ben, take care of your ribs – it’s not fair that bad things happen to good people. You kindly replied to a message I wrote a few months ago and I really appreciated getting that information in my other email.
I guess not many people here are English teachers – wise of you all!
Why on earth somebody making an average salary of 240,000 yen per month before tax is slugged higher taxes in proportion to their income than people earning over 300,000 yen a month is beyond me.
I have my own stories but one of my friends averages the first figure. He is slugged around 30,000 yen each month for kokumin kenko hoken and his citizens’ tax was around 120,000 for 4 payments.
No he aint on the kokumin nenkin – he and many other English teachers including myself in Tokyo who are not working for universities etc, prefer to eat than pay the pension.
Maybe I’m missing something but it seems that me and my co-workers who work at jobs where we only get paid for the hours we do and not by a salary, are paying higher tax rates on incomes that in our home countries qualify us as living around the poverty level. So no or very little tax applies back home.
By contrast Japan seems to be taxing very low income earners high tax and there are no discounts, no concessions like there are in many western countries on such incomes.
Yep, it IS our fault for working in an ‘industry’ flooded by the young, fresh graduates from North American who can’t get jobs and have student debts. Their presence is over-supply so wages and salaries have pretty much hit rock bottom.
Thanks again Ben. May 2018 bring you all you and your family wish for.
Thanks, atlas! Ribs are fine now but my shoulder is messed up instead 😉
From what I hear, BJJ is a never-ending stream of minor injuries.