Artists, photographers, film operators in Japan earn on average ¥311,000 a month in base pay and ¥343,900 including overtime and allowances, plus ¥0.80m in annual bonuses: about ¥4.92m a year (2025; all occupations ¥5.46m). Average age 39.8, average tenure 12.4 years. Women's base pay is 81.1% of men's.
By sex
| Monthly base pay | Annual pay (est.) | Age | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ¥328,600 | ¥5.30m | 42.8 | 14.5 |
| Women | ¥266,500 | ¥3.96m | 32.3 | 7.1 |
By company size
| Company size | Monthly base pay | Annual pay (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000+ employees | ¥456,500 | ¥7.49m |
| 100–999 employees | ¥301,900 | ¥5.29m |
| 10–99 employees | ¥293,300 | ¥4.16m |
By age (monthly base pay)
| 19 and under | ¥211,700 |
| 20-24 | ¥223,900 |
| 25-29 | ¥258,400 |
| 30-34 | ¥294,200 |
| 35-39 | ¥304,700 |
| 40-44 | ¥332,500 |
| 45-49 | ¥359,500 |
| 50-54 | ¥411,400 |
| 55-59 | ¥378,600 |
| 60-64 | ¥252,200 |
| 65-69 | ¥300,900 |
| 70+ | ¥297,500 |
Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 (MHLW, published 2026-03-24). Full-time ("general") employees at private establishments of companies with 10 or more employees. Monthly pay is for June; bonuses are for the previous calendar year. Estimated annual pay = monthly contractual pay × 12 + annual bonus. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), via e-Stat. Compiled and translated by The Hardest Market.
Other professional and engineering workers occupations: Researchers · Electrical, electronic, telecommunications engineers (except communication network engineers) · Machinery engineers · Transportation equipment engineers · Metal engineers · Chemical engineers · Architectural engineers · Civil engineers