Teacher in Japan: a ￥7,560,000 national median
The Japan national median for a teacher is ￥7,560,000 a year, or about ￥630,000 a month before tax.
Teacher Salary in Japan
Official national average monthly pay: ¥416,800 a month for Teacher (小・中学校教員) (MHLW occupation code 1192).
Source: MHLW wage survey (June 2023). Observed figure, published June 2023.
For context, the SalaryByRole job-title median is US$48,001 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
Teacher pay in official statistics for Japan
The closest official occupation is Teacher (小・中学校教員) (MHLW occupation code 1192). In June 2023 its national average monthly pay was ¥416,800 a month.
The survey estimates 32,960 workers in this occupation.
44 prefectures have a published figure. Aichi is highest at ¥504,600 (+21% vs national) and Ehime lowest at ¥246,600, a 2.05× gap.
13 of the 44 pay above the national average monthly pay; the next highest after Aichi are Kyoto (¥495,700) and Hokkaido (¥495,300).
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Average scheduled monthly earnings (所定内給与額) Observed | ¥416,800 |
| Average regular monthly pay incl. overtime (きまって支給する現金給与額) Observed | ¥424,900 |
| Average annual bonus and special pay Observed | ¥1,507,200 |
| Estimated workers Observed | 32,960 |
| Average age (years) Observed | 41 |
| Average years with employer Observed | 11.2 |
| Scheduled hours worked per month Observed | 174 |
| Overtime hours per month Observed | 3 |
| # | Prefecture | Average monthly pay | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aichi | ¥504,600 | +21% |
| 2 | Kyoto | ¥495,700 | +19% |
| 3 | Hokkaido | ¥495,300 | +19% |
| 4 | Tokyo | ¥484,100 | +16% |
| 5 | Hyogo | ¥468,300 | +12% |
| … | |||
| 42 | Ibaraki | ¥261,800 | -37% |
| 43 | Tottori | ¥251,800 | -40% |
| 44 | Ehime | ¥246,600 | -41% |
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$48,001
per year
Monthly (national)
US$4,000
per month, before tax
Hourly (national)
US$23.08
varies by city
Teacher pay in Japan vs other countries
Japan is 7th of 8 countries for this role once medians are converted at the same exchange rate (US$48,000). The United Kingdom pays 8% more (￥8,181,049 at today's rate) and India pays 81% less (￥1,416,711).
That median is about 1.3× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |  United Kingdom | US$51,900 | ￥8,181,049 | +8% |
| 7 |  Japan | US$48,000 | ￥7,560,000 | — |
| 8 |  India | US$9,000 | ￥1,416,711 | -81% |
Remote pay for workers in Japan
If a remote employer paid the U.S. median for the same job (US$65,000), that would be about ￥10,237,195, 1.35× the local median. That gap is the room a cross-border offer has to negotiate in.
Matched to Australia's median instead, the figure would be ￥12,290,187.
Income tax on a teacher salary in Japan (estimate)
Our simplified income-tax model for Japan leaves about ￥6,048,000 a year from the ￥7,560,000 median, ￥504,000 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 ￥7,560,000 median takes a raise of about ￥241,920.
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 ￥29,077 before tax.
Figures are estimates, updated 2026-11-01. See our methodology for sources and limitations.