A section in a Japanese company can be split into smaller units, each a kakari, and the kakaricho leads one: a handful of staff handling a specific task within the section's work. The kakaricho allocates and checks work, trains juniors and reports to the kacho. It is the first supervisory rank, and at traditional employers it typically comes after a decade or more of service.
The labour ministry's 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure put the average kakaricho-level employee at 45.4 years old, with 17.5 years at the company and scheduled monthly pay of about 399,000 yen, around 29% more than the average non-manager. Bonuses and overtime come on top, and overtime is the important part. Kakaricho do not normally have the authority, pay or freedom over their hours that the courts require for exemption from the working-hours rules, so they are usually paid for overtime. That makes the promotion from kakaricho to kacho a point at which take-home pay can fall.
Some companies have removed the layer in flattening exercises, and others use different names for the same level, such as team leader or shunin for a similar role.
What it means for a foreign employer
- It maps to Assistant Manager or Team Lead, not Manager. Offering "Manager" is a step up in title, which can help, but check whether the candidate has managed anyone.
- Count the overtime. A kakaricho's real pay includes substantial overtime. A move into an exempt manager role must make up for it, or the promotion is a pay cut.
- The average age surprises people. A kakaricho at a large Japanese company is typically in their forties. Do not mistake the junior-sounding title for a junior person.
- They make strong first managers. Kakaricho are close to the work and used to supervising without full authority, a useful fit for a growing subsidiary.
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, table on wages by position (employees on open-ended contracts).
- Labour Standards Act, Article 41.