Tokyo: pay, hiring and the labour market

Pay, hiring conditions, minimum wage and population. Kanto region.

Full-time workers in Tokyo earn ¥6.78m a year on average, 1st of 47. Its job-to-applicant ratio was 1.08 in September 2026, looser than Japan's 1.19. The minimum wage rose to ¥1,280 an hour for fiscal 2026, and the population has grown 1.3% since 2020.

¥6.78maverage annual pay1st of 47 · +24.3% vs Japan
1.08job-to-applicant ratio, September 202640th of 47 · Japan 1.19
¥1,280minimum wage an hour, FY20261st of 47 · +54 yen
14.24mpopulation, 2025 census+1.3% since 2020

Pay in Tokyo

 Annual payMonthlyBonusAgeTenure (yrs)Overtime (h/mo)
All¥6.78m¥0.45m¥1.40m43.412.610
Men¥7.54m¥0.49m¥1.62m44.613.911
Women¥5.51m¥0.37m¥1.02m41.310.39
Japan (all)¥5.46m¥0.37m¥1.01m44.412.711

Women's average annual pay is 27% below men's here. This is a raw comparison that does not adjust for differences in age, tenure or job.

Hiring in Tokyo: the job-to-applicant ratio

The ratio counts job openings per job seeker at Hello Work; above 1.0 there are more openings than applicants and hiring is harder. Tokyo stood at 1.08 in September 2026, against 1.08 a year earlier.

Minimum wage in Tokyo

Tokyo's regional minimum wage for fiscal 2026 is ¥1,280 an hour, up from ¥1,226, effective 1 October 2026. Japan's weighted average is ¥1,177.

People: population and foreign workers

Population, 1 October 202514,236,6271st of 47
Population change, 2020–25+1.3%1st of 47
Foreign workers652,2511st of 47
Workplaces employing foreign workers87,512

Employers headquartered in Tokyo

1,403 listed companies have their head office in Tokyo, and 6,430 unlisted employers with 101 or more staff report to MHLW's women's advancement database. We publish each one's pay, women in management and gender pay gap.

Elsewhere in Kanto

Sources: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025); MHLW Employment Referrals for General Workers (September 2026, seasonally adjusted, by workplace); MHLW regional minimum wages (fiscal 2026); MHLW report on the employment of foreign workers (as of 31 October 2025); Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census; MHLW women's advancement database. Compiled by The Hardest Market. Annual pay is monthly contractual pay × 12 plus annual bonuses, for full-time general workers.