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How Much Do Software Engineers Really Earn in Japan? (Official Data + What Offers Don't Tell You)

MARU — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 03:19:19 +0000

Search for "software engineer salary Japan" and you'll find numbers anywhere from ¥4M to ¥15M. They're not all wrong — they're measuring different people: government statistics cover every developer in the country, while surveys of international developers cover a narrower, more senior group.

This article puts the two most useful data sources side by side, explains why they differ so much, and then covers the part most salary guides skip: how to read a Japanese offer, where bonuses, fixed overtime pay and deductions can change the real number a lot.

Source 1: Japan's official wage statistics

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes an annual wage survey covering companies with 10+ employees across Japan. For the occupation "software developer" (ソフトウェア作成者), the 2024 data gives:

Age	Estimated annual pay
25–29	¥4.70M
30–34	¥5.41M
35–39	¥6.31M
40–44	¥6.51M
45–49	¥7.38M
All ages (average age 38)	¥5.74M

And by company size (all ages):

Company size	Estimated annual pay
1,000+ employees	¥6.56M
100–999 employees	¥5.49M
10–99 employees	¥5.17M

For comparison, "system consultants and designers" (システムコンサルタント・設計者) — roughly architects and senior design roles — average ¥7.53M.

Source: MHLW, 2024 Basic Survey on Wage Structure, occupation table 5. Annual pay estimated as monthly cash earnings (including overtime) × 12 + annual bonus. Full-time employees, men and women combined.

Watch out: You'll see "¥6.55M average for software developers" quoted on some sites. That figure is for companies with 1,000+ employees only — not the overall average.

Source 2: International developers in Japan

The TokyoDev Developer Survey 2025 asks international software developers working in Japan about their pay. Its median total compensation is ¥9.5M — much higher than the government number.

Years of experience	Median compensation
1–3 years	¥5.2M
4–6 years	¥6.3M
7–9 years	¥9.4M
10–12 years	¥11M
13–15 years	¥12.5M

The biggest difference comes from where you work:

Company type	Median compensation
International company	¥13.5M
Japanese subsidiary of an international company	¥11.5M
Japanese company	¥8.5M

And from how much English the job uses: developers who always use English at work report a median of ¥10.5M, versus ¥5.5M for those who never do.

Keep in mind: TokyoDev's respondents lean toward experienced, English-speaking developers at international companies, so these figures are higher than what a typical engineer in Japan earns.

Why the two sources are so far apart

Both are accurate. They describe different groups:

The government data covers everyone called a software developer — including many at SIers, subcontractors and SES companies, where pay is lower (see the 5 kinds of tech company in Japan).
The TokyoDev data covers a self-selected group: international developers, many of them senior, many at foreign-owned companies.

What that means for you: if you join a typical Japanese company, the government figures are the realistic benchmark. The ¥10M+ numbers are real, but they come mostly from foreign-owned companies and senior roles.

How to read a Japanese offer

This is where people get surprised. A Japanese offer usually states an annual salary (年収, nenshū) — but what's inside that number matters.

1. Bonuses (賞与, shōyo)

Many Japanese companies pay a bonus, often twice a year (summer and winter). The annual figure in your offer may include expected bonuses.

Ask: "How much of this is base salary, and how much is bonus?"
Ask: "Is the bonus guaranteed, or based on company and individual performance?"

A ¥6M offer could be ¥6M of base pay — or ¥4.5M base plus ¥1.5M of bonus that may shrink in a bad year.

2. Fixed overtime pay (固定残業代 / みなし残業, minashi zangyō)

Some companies include a fixed amount of overtime pay in your salary — for example, "includes 30 hours of overtime per month." You receive it even if you work less overtime, but it also means the base salary is lower than the headline figure, and the company expects that overtime to be normal.

Japanese hiring guidelines require companies to disclose fixed overtime pay — how many hours, and how much — in job postings. Look for it.
Overtime beyond the fixed hours must be paid extra.
Ask: "Does this salary include fixed overtime pay? For how many hours?"

A high salary with 45 hours of fixed overtime is a very different job from the same salary with none.

3. Allowances (手当, teate)

Commuting costs are commonly covered by the company (通勤手当). Some companies add housing or family allowances. Check whether these are included in the annual figure or paid on top.

4. Take-home pay

From your gross salary, Japan deducts social insurance (health insurance, pension and employment insurance — roughly 15% combined), plus income tax and resident tax. The exact amount depends on your salary, city and situation. Use a Japanese take-home pay calculator with your actual offer rather than a rule of thumb.

Pension if you leave Japan: Foreign residents who leave Japan can usually claim a partial refund of pension contributions (脱退一時金, dattai ichijikin) within two years of leaving. Check the current rules with the Japan Pension Service.

Summary

Official data: software developers in Japan average about ¥5.74M a year (2024), rising with age and company size.
International developers report a median of ¥9.5M, driven by foreign-owned companies, English-speaking roles and seniority.
For a typical Japanese company, use the government figures as your benchmark.
In any offer, check base vs bonus, fixed overtime pay, and allowances — they can change the real value a lot.
Estimate your take-home pay with your actual numbers before accepting.
Remember the resident tax that starts in your second year — your take-home drops without your salary changing.

This article is general information, not financial or tax advice. Salary data is from the sources linked above; figures are estimates and vary by company, role and region.

Originally published at Honne Dev, where I write about working in Japan as an engineer — from the Japanese side of the desk.

SES in Japan: How to Spot a Body-Shop Before You Sign (From a Japanese Engineer)

MARU — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:02:02 +0000

You found a job in Japan. The company sponsors your visa, the salary looks okay, and the interview was surprisingly easy.

Then you arrive, and on day one you're sent to work at another company's office. Your manager is someone you've never met. Your "team" doesn't know your name. Three months later, the project ends and you're told to "wait at home" until the next one.

Welcome to SES.

Most Japanese engineers know exactly what SES is. But it's rarely explained to people applying from overseas — which is a problem, because SES companies can sponsor work visas just like any other employer, and their job postings often look the same.

This article is the honest version.

What SES actually means

SES stands for System Engineering Service (システムエンジニアリングサービス). In practice, it means:

Your employer places you at a client company to work on the client's project. The client pays your employer a monthly fee for your time. You are paid a salary by your employer.

Japanese engineers usually call this 客先常駐 (kyakusaki jōchū) — "stationed at the client's site."

Legally, SES is usually a quasi-mandate contract (準委任契約). The client is paying for your working hours, not a finished product.

How it compares to other "tech companies" in Japan

Type	Japanese term	What you actually do
Product company	自社開発 (jisha kaihatsu)	Build your own company's product
Contract development	受託開発 (jutaku kaihatsu)	Build software for clients, usually at your own office
SIer	エスアイヤー	Large system integrators; design and manage big client systems, often outsourcing the building
SES	客先常駐	Placed at a client (often under an SIer) to add headcount

All four can call themselves an "IT company." All four can sponsor an Engineer visa. The job posting often looks the same. I go through all five types in the 5 kinds of "tech company" in Japan.

Why SES can be a bad deal

Not every SES job is terrible. But the structure creates problems you should understand before you sign.

1. Multi-layer subcontracting (多重下請け)

Big Japanese IT projects often flow down like this:

End client (bank, manufacturer, government)
  └─ Prime SIer
       └─ 2nd-tier company
            └─ 3rd-tier company
                 └─ Your SES employer → you

Every layer takes a margin. The deeper your employer sits in this chain (Japanese engineers call this 商流, shōryū, "the commercial flow"), the less of the client's money reaches you — and the less say you have over the work.

2. You don't choose your project

Your employer's job is to keep you billable. If the only open slot is running manual tests on a legacy system in a language you've never touched, that may be where you go. Your career growth depends on which projects happen to be available.

3. The "bench" (待機)

When a project ends and there's no next one, you're on standby (待機, taiki). Some companies treat this well. Others pressure engineers to accept any project, or cut pay during standby.

Honne tip: Under Japan's Labor Standards Act (Article 26), if you can't work for reasons attributable to the employer, you're entitled to a leave allowance of at least 60% of your average wage. If a company says "no project = no pay," that's a serious red flag.

4. Your formal evaluation comes from people who don't see your work

You work at the client's office, but your salary review is done by your employer — who rarely sees your day-to-day work. At weaker SES companies, raises depend more on how much the client pays for you than on how good you are. (The client team's opinion still matters a lot — more on that below.)

5. Japanese level surprises

Many SES placements are with traditional Japanese companies where meetings, documents and chat are all in Japanese. A job posted as "English OK" can become "business Japanese required" once you're assigned. See how much Japanese you actually need.

MARU's honne: how SES engineers are actually seen on site

On past projects, I've worked alongside SES engineers on client-side teams. Here's the honest picture.

You're not an employee of the client, but you're still held responsible for your work. The good news: the bar is clear. If you do what you're asked, properly and on time, the client-side team notices — and that leads to good evaluations. And the more you take initiative beyond your assigned tasks, the more highly you're rated.

One thing is non-negotiable, whether you're an employee or SES: hō-ren-sō (報連相) — hōkoku (report), renraku (inform), sōdan (consult). Report progress before you're asked. Flag problems early. Ask before you guess. In Japanese workplaces, an engineer who is technically strong but goes silent is trusted far less than one who communicates constantly.

Why does the client team's opinion matter so much? Because in SES, the client decides whether to extend the contract for your placement. Even though your employer does your formal review, the client team's impression of you is what keeps you on a good project.

Red flags in the job posting

You can often spot SES before the first interview. Look for these:

What you see	What it often means
Work location: "client sites in Tokyo" / 勤務地：顧客先 / プロジェクト先	You'll be stationed at clients. The clearest signal.
"Various projects available" with no product named	They're selling your time, not building something.
Tech stack lists 15+ languages and frameworks	They'll place you wherever there's demand.
"No experience needed" + visa sponsorship + many openings	Volume hiring to fill client headcount.
Company website mentions SES事業, 技術者派遣, or エンジニア派遣	That's the core business.
The company holds a worker dispatch license (労働者派遣事業許可, number like 派13-XXXXXX)	Not proof of SES, but a strong hint they place staff at other companies.
Very fast offer after a short, non-technical interview	They need bodies, not a specific skill.

How to check the dispatch license: Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare runs a public search called 人材サービス総合サイト (Human Resources Services General Site). Search the company name to see whether it holds a dispatch license.

Questions to ask in the interview

If you're not sure, ask directly. A good company will answer clearly. A company that dodges these questions is telling you something.

"Will I work at your office or at a client's site?"
"What percentage of your engineers work at client sites?"
"For my first project, who is the end client, and what tier is your company in the chain?" (商流は何次ですか？)
"What happens to my salary if a project ends and there's no next project yet?"
"Who evaluates my performance, and how is my salary review decided?"
"Can I decline a project?"
"What language are meetings and documents in at the client site?"

MARU's honne: what the interviewer is really looking for

From the hiring side, what decides the outcome is the same as any job interview in Japan: can you clearly explain what you're good at as an engineer, and how you'll use it in this role? Be specific — not "I know AWS," but "I built and ran the CI/CD pipeline for a service with X users, and I can do the same for your team." If you can make that case concretely, you're in good shape.

Is SES ever a good idea?

Honestly, sometimes — yes.

As a way into Japan. If your options are limited, an SES offer that sponsors your visa can still get you into Japan. A residence card and Japanese work history make your next job search much easier.
Good SES companies exist. Some are close to the end client (1st or 2nd tier), pay fairly, protect engineers during standby, and let you choose projects.
Variety. You'll see many companies and tech stacks quickly.

The key is to go in with your eyes open, and to have a plan: for example, "one to two years in SES, build Japanese and experience, then move to a product company."

When you change jobs, your Engineer visa generally stays valid as long as your new work fits the same visa category — but check the rules for your situation and file the required notification with immigration within 14 days of changing employers.

Summary

SES = you are placed at client companies. Your employer sells your hours.
The problems come from multi-layer subcontracting, no project choice, standby risk, and evaluation by people who don't see your work.
Spot it from the posting: "client sites", vague projects, huge tech lists, dispatch license.
Ask the seven questions. Clear answers are a good sign.
SES can be a stepping stone — just don't let it become your whole career by accident.

This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your specific situation, consult your employer, a licensed gyoseishoshi, or the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

Originally published at Honne Dev, where I write about working in Japan as an engineer — from the Japanese side of the desk.

Inside a Japanese Engineering Team: Meetings, Reviews, Overtime and the Pay Trap

MARU — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 05:31:40 +0000

Job postings tell you the stack. They don't tell you what Tuesday looks like.

This is what daily work is like on a Japanese engineering team, from inside one — plus the legal limits on overtime, what the statistics say about holidays, and the pay arrangement that surprises foreign engineers most.

The rhythm of the day

There is always a progress check. Some teams hold a morning stand-up; others do it at a different hour or in a different format. But at least once a day, somewhere, you will report where you are.

This isn't surveillance. It's the daily expression of hou-ren-sou (報連相 — report, inform, consult), which runs through Japanese work. Coming to that check with a clear, honest status — including problems — is a large part of how you're judged. Silence is read as trouble, not as focus.

If you're used to teams where you're left alone as long as the ticket moves, this is the adjustment: communicate more often than feels necessary, and earlier than feels comfortable.

How technical decisions get made

The pattern on my team, and on others I've worked with:

An engineer proposes. Technical decisions start from the engineers doing the work, not from a manager handing down an architecture.
Review is deliberate, and deliberately repeated. The proposal goes around for comment — often more rounds, and to more people, than engineers from other countries expect.
Then it proceeds, with the decision effectively pre-agreed by everyone involved.

Two practical consequences:

Getting a decision takes longer. Plan for it. A proposal that would be merged in a day elsewhere may take a week of circulation here.
Once agreed, execution is smooth. The slowness buys consensus, so you rarely relitigate a decision mid-implementation.

How to work with this rather than against it: write your proposal down clearly, share it early, and ask specific people for comment rather than waiting for volunteers. Pushing a decision through quickly, over quiet objections, damages trust in a way that's hard to repair.

Overtime: the law, and the reality

The reality: overtime exists. How much depends heavily on the company and the project.

The law, since the 2019 reform (2020 for smaller companies), sets hard caps:

Limit	Value
Standard cap	45 hours/month, 360 hours/year
With a special clause (temporary circumstances)	Under 100 hours/month including holiday work; 720 hours/year
Multi-month average	80 hours/month or less
Months allowed above 45 hours	6 per year maximum

Violations carry criminal penalties — up to six months' imprisonment or a ¥300,000 fine.

Source: MHLW — upper limits on overtime work (Japanese)

These caps are real and enforced, but note what they mean: a company can legally work you close to 80 hours of overtime a month for stretches. "Legal" is not the same as "sane". Ask about actual overtime hours in the interview, not just whether overtime exists.

Fixed overtime pay: the thing that catches people out

This is the one I'd flag hardest for anyone arriving from abroad, because most countries don't have it.

Fixed overtime pay (固定残業代 / みなし残業, minashi zangyō) means a set number of overtime hours is already included in your stated salary. A "¥6M" offer might mean ¥6M including 30 hours of overtime every month.

You receive the fixed amount whether or not you work those hours — that part is in your favour.
But your base salary is lower than the headline number, and the company expects that overtime to be normal.
Hours beyond the fixed amount must still be paid separately. If they aren't, that's a violation.

What to ask before you accept:

"Does this salary include fixed overtime pay?"
"How many hours, and what amount?"
"What happens to pay for hours beyond that?"

Job postings are expected to state the hours and amount. If an offer is vague about it, press until it isn't. More on reading offers in how much engineers really earn in Japan.

Paid leave: better than its reputation

Japan's reputation for unused holiday is out of date, though it's still below many countries.

In the most recent national survey, workers were granted 16.9 days of annual paid leave on average and took 11.0 days — a 65.3% take-up rate, the highest since 1984.

Source: MHLW — General Survey on Working Conditions 2024 (Japanese, PDF)

In practice:

Since 2019, employers must ensure workers with 10+ days of entitlement take at least 5 days a year. Companies now actively push you to take leave.
Taking leave is normal; taking it without notice is not. Flag it early, hand over your work, and it's rarely an issue.
Long consecutive breaks are harder to arrange than in Europe. Two weeks off is unusual outside the national holiday periods.

What actually earns you trust

Pulling the threads together — none of these are about language ability:

Report before you're asked. Progress, blockers, bad news especially.
Write proposals down, and let review run its course.
Deliver what you said you'd deliver, on the date you said.
Be easy to work with. The team sees you every day, and that weighs as much as your code.

Summary

There's a daily progress check in some form. Communicating early is expected, not optional.
Technical decisions come from engineers, but go through heavy, repeated review. Decisions take longer and stick harder.
Overtime exists. The legal caps are 45 hours/month standard, under 100 in exceptional months, with criminal penalties for breaches.
Fixed overtime pay is the trap. Ask how many hours are baked into your salary.
Paid leave: 16.9 days granted, 11.0 taken on average (65.3%), and at least 5 days is now mandatory.

This article is general information based on the official sources linked above and my own experience on Japanese engineering teams. Practice varies by company.

Want the inside view on how Japanese companies hire? Get the free guide "What Japanese Hiring Managers Actually Check in Your Resume"

Originally published at Honne Dev, where I write about working in Japan as an engineer — from the Japanese side of the desk.