How big is the gender pay gap in Japan?

70.2% at the median listed company (2,671 companies), and 73.0% at the median unlisted employer (21,772).

Which industry is highest?

Information & communication, with a median of 75.9%. The lowest is Banks at 53.6%.

Gender Pay Gap in Japan: Women's Pay by Industry and Company (2026)

At the median Japanese listed company, 70.2% is women's average pay as a share of men's, across the 2,671 companies that report it in their annual securities reports (filed 2025-10 to 2026-09). Among unlisted employers reporting to MHLW the median is 73.0% (21,772 employers), and 77.7% at Japan subsidiaries of foreign groups. By industry it runs from 75.9% in Information & communication to 53.6% in Banks.

70.2%median listed company (2,671)

73.0%median unlisted employer (21,772)

77.7%Japan subsidiaries of foreign groups

By industry: the median and the leader (31 TSE industries)

Industry	Median	Companies	Highest
Information & communication	75.9%	346	FIXER Inc. 99.4%
Oil & coal products	75.9%	5	MORESCO Corporation 79.4%
Iron & steel	75.6%	34	HOKUETSU METAL Co., Ltd. 85.3%
Transportation equipment	74.0%	71	The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd. 90.5%
Pharmaceuticals	73.8%	42	Morishita Jintan Co., Ltd. 86.2%
Chemicals	73.5%	166	Kao Corporation 90.8%
Rubber products	73.1%	15	Bridgestone Corporation 83.9%
Other products	72.4%	85	ASICS Corporation 83.4%
Nonferrous metals	71.9%	23	UACJ Corporation 78.3%
Precision instruments	71.7%	37	Terumo Corporation 83.4%
Electric appliances	71.6%	186	Ferrotec Corporation 90.9%
Services	71.5%	346	JSH Co., Ltd. 97.0%
Machinery	71.4%	172	Tsubaki Nakashima Co., Ltd. 85.5%
Land transportation	71.1%	52	East Japan Railway Company 88.9%
Metal products	71.1%	68	Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd. 88.9%
Glass & ceramics	70.0%	39	Toyo Tanso Co., Ltd. 92.1%
Securities & commodity futures	69.7%	15	Toyo Securities Co., Ltd. 83.0%
Electric power & gas	69.5%	23	Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Incorporated 83.5%
Insurance	69.5%	10	Advantage Risk Management Co., Ltd. 78.0%
Foods	68.8%	104	MiyoshiOil&FatCo., Ltd. 85.8%
Textiles & apparel	68.2%	31	Seiren Co., Ltd. 78.1%
Warehousing	67.7%	28	Rinko Corporation 85.2%
Marine transportation	67.2%	6	Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha 74.8%
Other financing business	65.6%	26	Solvvy Inc. 76.1%
Construction	65.3%	116	Nippon Aqua Co., Ltd. 81.7%
Real estate	65.1%	69	NIPPON PARKING DEVELOPMENT Co., Ltd. 89.7%
Pulp & paper	64.9%	22	AWA PAPER & TECHNOLOGICAL COMPANY, Inc. 84.0%
Wholesale trade	64.5%	206	Cross Plus Inc. 86.3%
Retail trade	63.9%	250	Yoshinoya Holdings Co., Ltd. 96.5%
Fishery, agriculture & forestry	60.1%	10	AXYZ Co., Ltd. 72.3%
Banks	53.6%	61	SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited 73.5%

Industries where five or more companies report the figure. The leader is the highest own-company figure among companies with 300+ employees at the parent; figures a holding company reports for a subsidiary are left out.

By type of employment

	Listed, median	Companies	Unlisted, median
All employees	70.2%	2,671	73.0%
Regular employees	74.7%	2,656	77.5%
Non-regular employees	70.0%	2,450	—

By company size (parent-company employees)

Employees	Median	Companies
Under 300	69.5%	894
300–999	70.5%	1,041
1,000–4,999	70.0%	618
5,000+	73.9%	118

Top 10 (Listed companies with 1,000+ employees at the parent company. Women's average pay as a percentage of men's, regular (full-time, indefinite) employees, ranked by distance from 100%. This compares averages, not pay for the same job)

1	Care Twentyone Corporation Services	98.3%
2	Artner Co., Ltd. Services	95.6%
3	Care Service Co., Ltd. Services	92.8%
4	Baudroie, Inc. Information & communication	92.6%
5	Shiseido Company, Limited Chemicals	92.4%
6	SUNWELS Co., Ltd. Services	90.1%
7	KeePer Technical Laboratory Co., Ltd. Services	89.3%
8	Kao Corporation Chemicals	88.7%
9	Cedar.Co., Ltd. Services	88.7%
10	Members Co., Ltd. Services	88.5%

See the full top 50 →

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Every listed company and unlisted employer, quartiles by industry and size band, each company's percentile within its industry and up to three years of history, as Excel, CSV and a members' dashboard.

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What the figure means

Japan measures the gap as women's average pay as a percentage of men's, for all workers, regular workers and non-regular workers. Employers with 301 or more regular employees have had to publish it since July 2022 under the Women's Advancement Act, and every employer with 101 or more since 1 April 2026. It compares averages across the workforce, not pay for the same job: a wide gap usually means men hold more of the senior and full-time roles.

Questions

How big is the gender pay gap in Japan?: 70.2% at the median listed company (2,671 companies), and 73.0% at the median unlisted employer (21,772).
Which industry is highest?: Information & communication, with a median of 75.9%. The lowest is Banks at 53.6%.
Which company is highest?: Care Twentyone Corporation at 98.3% (Listed companies with 1,000+ employees at the parent company. Women's average pay as a percentage of men's, regular (full-time, indefinite) employees, ranked by distance from 100%. This compares averages, not pay for the same job).
Is disclosure mandatory?: Japan measures the gap as women's average pay as a percentage of men's, for all workers, regular workers and non-regular workers. Employers with 301 or more regular employees have had to publish it since July 2022 under the Women's Advancement Act, and every employer with 101 or more since 1 April 2026. It compares averages across the workforce, not pay for the same job: a wide gap usually means men hold more of the senior and full-time roles.
How do I compare my company with its industry?: Every company page shows its industry median. Quartiles by industry and size band, each company's percentile within its industry, and the full table as Excel and CSV are in the paid plans.

Sources: each company's annual securities report (EDINET, filed 2025-10 to 2026-09), MHLW's women's-advancement database. Compiled by The Hardest Market; definitions and exclusions in the methodology.