Software Engineer in Japan: a ￥10,710,000 national median
The Japan national median for a software engineer is ￥10,710,000 a year, or about ￥892,500 a month before tax.
Software Engineer Salary in Japan
Official national average monthly pay: ¥353,700 a month for Software Engineer (ソフトウェア作成者) (MHLW occupation code 1104).
Source: MHLW wage survey (June 2023). Observed figure, published June 2023.
For context, the SalaryByRole job-title median is US$68,002 a year.
Showing amounts in USD (USD default; source data is JPY). FX as of Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:02:31 +0000. Convert currencies
Software Engineer pay in official statistics for Japan
The closest official occupation is Software Engineer (ソフトウェア作成者) (MHLW occupation code 1104). In June 2023 its national average monthly pay was ¥353,700 a month.
The survey estimates 713,660 workers in this occupation.
47 prefectures have a published figure. Osaka is highest at ¥373,700 (+6% vs national) and Miyazaki lowest at ¥268,500, a 1.39× gap.
4 of the 47 pay above the national average monthly pay; the next highest after Osaka are Tokyo (¥371,600) and Chiba (¥362,600).
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Average scheduled monthly earnings (所定内給与額) Observed | ¥353,700 |
| Average regular monthly pay incl. overtime (きまって支給する現金給与額) Observed | ¥385,400 |
| Average annual bonus and special pay Observed | ¥951,000 |
| Estimated workers Observed | 713,660 |
| Average age (years) Observed | 38.6 |
| Average years with employer Observed | 10.7 |
| Scheduled hours worked per month Observed | 168 |
| Overtime hours per month Observed | 12 |
| # | Prefecture | Average monthly pay | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osaka | ¥373,700 | +6% |
| 2 | Tokyo | ¥371,600 | +5% |
| 3 | Chiba | ¥362,600 | +3% |
| 4 | Kyoto | ¥362,100 | +2% |
| 5 | Aichi | ¥350,800 | -1% |
| … | |||
| 45 | Saga | ¥271,400 | -23% |
| 46 | Aomori | ¥269,500 | -24% |
| 47 | Miyazaki | ¥268,500 | -24% |
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2023 (賃金構造基本統計調査), general workers by prefecture and occupation, via e-Stat table 0003445758 (Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (CC BY 4.0 compatible)). Figures are copied from the published table without adjustment; ranks and percentage differences are calculated by us. Methodology
SalaryByRole median
US$68,002
per year
Monthly (national)
US$5,667
per month, before tax
Hourly (national)
US$32.69
varies by city
Software Engineer pay in Japan vs other countries
Japan is 11th of 16 countries for this role once medians are converted at the same exchange rate (US$68,000). The United Arab Emirates pays 3% more (￥11,021,455 at today's rate) and South Korea pays 12% less (￥9,449,987).
That median is about 1.9× GDP per person (US$36,000, World Bank 2025). That is a rough sign of how far the role pays above the average national income.
| # | Country | Median (USD) | In JPY | vs Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 |  United Arab Emirates | US$70,000 | ￥11,021,455 | +3% |
| 11 |  Japan | US$68,000 | ￥10,710,000 | — |
| 12 |  South Korea | US$60,000 | ￥9,449,987 | -12% |
Remote pay for workers in Japan
If a remote employer paid the U.S. median for the same job (US$136,000), that would be about ￥21,419,362, 2× the local median. Location-adjusted remote offers usually land between the two.
Income tax on a software engineer salary in Japan (estimate)
Our simplified income-tax model for Japan leaves about ￥8,568,000 a year from the ￥10,710,000 median, ￥714,000 a month at a 20% effective rate. Flat ~20% effective-rate estimate. Rough national income-tax estimate; excludes social security, local taxes, and credits.
Japan: prices, jobs and holidays
Consumer prices in Japan rose 3.2% in 2025 (World Bank). Matching that on the ￥10,710,000 median takes a raise of about ￥342,720.
Unemployment was 2.5% of the labour force in 2025.
Japan has 16 public holidays in 2026 (Nager.Date); at the median, one working day is worth about ￥41,192 before tax.
Figures are estimates, updated 2026-11-01. See our methodology for sources and limitations.