Caregiver Salary in Japan: 338,200 Yen a Month
Cross-agency · employment
Quick answer
Japan's health ministry puts average pay for a full-time care worker at 338,200 yen a month in September 2024, up 13,960 yen on the year. Only 192,660 yen of that is basic pay. The rest is allowances of 97,980 yen and a bonus component of 47,560 yen.
Every figure on this page is from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Reiwa 6 Survey on the Status of Treatment of Care Service Workers1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare runs an annual survey specifically on what care workers are paid. The most recent published round covers September 2024.
It sampled 13,801 facilities and establishments and got 8,180 valid responses, a response rate of 59.3 percent. The figures cover establishments receiving the care worker treatment improvement addition.
The headline figure, and what is inside it
A full-time, monthly-paid care worker averaged ¥338,200 a month.
| Component | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pay | ¥192,660 | 57 percent |
| Allowances | ¥97,980 | 29 percent |
| Bonus component | ¥47,560 | 14 percent |
| Total average pay | ¥338,200 |
The ministry defines average pay as basic monthly pay plus allowances plus one sixth of the bonuses paid between April and September.
This split is the single most useful thing on the page. Basic pay alone is ¥192,660, and an offer quoting that number is quoting ¥145,540 less than the survey’s own headline. The share calculations above are arithmetic on the published components.
The direction of travel
| September 2023 | September 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average pay | ¥324,240 | ¥338,200 | +¥13,960 |
| Actual working hours | 163.9 | 163.1 | -0.8 |
| Basic pay plus regular allowances | ¥253,810 | +¥11,130 |
Pay rose while hours fell slightly. The comparison covers people on the payroll on both 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024, so it is the same population rather than two different samples.
By care setting
The gap between the best and worst paying settings is worth knowing before signing.
| Setting | Average pay | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Welfare facilities for the elderly | ¥361,860 | +¥14,890 |
| Specified facility resident care | ¥361,000 | +¥15,300 |
| Health facilities for the elderly | ¥352,900 | +¥14,390 |
| Home-visit care | ¥349,740 | +¥16,930 |
| Long-term care medical facilities | ¥330,030 | +¥15,710 |
| Day rehabilitation | ¥319,310 | +¥11,480 |
| Small-scale multifunctional home care | ¥305,220 | +¥10,470 |
| Communal daily living care for dementia patients | ¥302,010 | +¥11,820 |
| Day care establishments | ¥294,440 | +¥10,870 |
The spread from top to bottom is ¥67,420 a month. Home-visit care had the largest single increase at ¥16,930.
Against the other jobs in the same buildings
| Occupation, full time and monthly paid | Average pay | Average age |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing staff | ¥384,620 | 51.8 |
| Therapists and functional training instructors | ¥362,800 | 40.5 |
| Life or support consultants | ¥353,950 | 46.5 |
| Care workers | ¥338,200 | 45.7 |
Nursing staff earn ¥46,420 a month more than care workers in the same care settings.
The average full-time care worker is 45.7 years old with 9.5 years of service. This is not an entry-level population, which matters when reading the average as a starting offer.
Part-time, which is a different job
| Full time | Part time | |
|---|---|---|
| Average pay | ¥338,200 | ¥196,060 |
| Actual working hours | 163.1 | 104.2 |
| Average age | 45.7 | 52.7 |
| Average service | 9.5 years | 7.9 years |
Part-time pay is 58 percent of full-time pay on 64 percent of the hours. Both ratios are arithmetic on the published figures.
What this survey does not cover
It publishes pay. It publishes nothing about how to get there: not the Specified Skilled Worker route, not the technical intern programme, not Japanese language requirements, not the care worker national qualification. None of that is stated here.
It also does not separate workers by nationality or visa status, so there is no published figure for what a Filipino caregiver specifically is paid in Japan.
The working in Japan guide covers the prefectural minimum wage, which is the floor under all of these figures, and the work visa requirements guide explains the split between Philippine exit documents and Japanese entry rules.
The Philippine side
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| DMW processing, direct hire | USD 100, in peso equivalent |
| DMW processing, manual OEC through a landbased agency | ₱200.00 |
| OWWA membership | USD 25 |
| Pag-IBIG | ₱600.00 |
Charging above the allowable schedule is illegal recruitment under RA 10022, carrying 12 years and 1 day to 20 years and a fine of ₱1,000,000.00 to ₱2,000,000.00.
The recruitment agencies guide covers the licence directory and the OEC guide covers the exit certificate.
Related
The caregiver salary abroad comparison puts these figures beside the other destinations that publish caregiver pay, the working in Japan guide covers the minimum wage by prefecture that sits under every one of these figures, the caregiver salary in Canada guide covers the other large destination with published caregiver pay, and the PEOS guide covers the free seminar to take before applying.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a care worker earn in Japan?
- Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare puts average pay for a full-time, monthly-paid care worker at 338,200 yen a month in September 2024. That is basic pay plus allowances plus a bonus component, not take-home pay.
- How much of that is basic pay?
- 192,660 yen, which is 57 percent of the total. Allowances add 97,980 yen and one sixth of the April to September bonuses adds 47,560 yen. Anyone quoting only the basic figure is quoting a little over half.
- Is care worker pay rising?
- Yes. The same group averaged 324,240 yen in September 2023, so average pay rose 13,960 yen over the year while actual working hours fell slightly, from 163.9 to 163.1 a month.
- Which care settings pay most?
- Welfare facilities for the elderly at 361,860 yen and specified facility resident care at 361,000 yen. Home-visit care is 349,740 yen. Day care establishments are lowest at 294,440 yen.
- How does it compare with nursing staff?
- Nursing staff in the same care settings averaged 384,620 yen a month, which is 46,420 yen above a care worker. Therapists averaged 362,800 yen and life or support consultants 353,950 yen.
- What is the typical profile of a care worker there?
- The survey puts the average full-time care worker at 45.7 years old with 9.5 years of service, working 163.1 hours a month.
- Do these figures cover part-time work?
- Separately. Part-time monthly-paid care workers averaged 196,060 yen over 104.2 hours a month, up 13,130 yen on the year.
- Is this what a Filipino caregiver would be paid?
- The survey does not say. It covers care workers in Japan without separating by nationality or visa, and it publishes nothing on the Specified Skilled Worker route, the technical intern programme or Japanese language requirements.