Authors, journalists, editors in Japan earn on average ¥400,400 a month in base pay and ¥449,900 including overtime and allowances, plus ¥1.33m in annual bonuses: about ¥6.73m a year (2025; all occupations ¥5.46m). Average age 41.5, average tenure 13.7 years. Women's base pay is 78.6% of men's.
By sex
| Monthly base pay | Annual pay (est.) | Age | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ¥439,200 | ¥7.42m | 43.5 | 16.2 |
| Women | ¥345,200 | ¥5.75m | 38.6 | 10.1 |
By company size
| Company size | Monthly base pay | Annual pay (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000+ employees | ¥547,200 | ¥9.36m |
| 100–999 employees | ¥382,200 | ¥6.54m |
| 10–99 employees | ¥288,600 | ¥4.51m |
By age (monthly base pay)
| 20-24 | ¥258,400 |
| 25-29 | ¥283,400 |
| 30-34 | ¥321,600 |
| 35-39 | ¥415,800 |
| 40-44 | ¥426,400 |
| 45-49 | ¥491,200 |
| 50-54 | ¥494,100 |
| 55-59 | ¥549,200 |
| 60-64 | ¥361,000 |
| 65-69 | ¥324,700 |
| 70+ | ¥200,600 |
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