Designers in Japan earn on average ¥353,400 a month in base pay and ¥375,600 including overtime and allowances, plus ¥0.89m in annual bonuses: about ¥5.40m a year (2025; all occupations ¥5.46m). Average age 39.1, average tenure 9.8 years. Women's base pay is 83.1% of men's.
By sex
| Monthly base pay | Annual pay (est.) | Age | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ¥391,800 | ¥6.01m | 41.3 | 11.1 |
| Women | ¥325,600 | ¥4.95m | 37.6 | 8.8 |
By company size
| Company size | Monthly base pay | Annual pay (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000+ employees | ¥444,100 | ¥7.31m |
| 100–999 employees | ¥354,600 | ¥5.52m |
| 10–99 employees | ¥326,500 | ¥4.72m |
By age (monthly base pay)
| 19 and under | ¥190,000 |
| 20-24 | ¥255,200 |
| 25-29 | ¥279,800 |
| 30-34 | ¥342,100 |
| 35-39 | ¥356,400 |
| 40-44 | ¥394,500 |
| 45-49 | ¥403,800 |
| 50-54 | ¥402,700 |
| 55-59 | ¥424,500 |
| 60-64 | ¥318,000 |
| 65-69 | ¥398,000 |
| 70+ | ¥182,700 |
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