【Ultimate Guide】2025 Average Annual Salaries by Occupation for Highly Skilled Foreign Talent

Global Power Inc. (headquartered in Taito-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO, Yukiichi Takeuchi), the operator of NINJA—the job and career transition support site for foreign nationals requiring business-level Japanese or higher—today released the results of its analysis on average annual salaries by occupation for foreign talent hired between April 2025 and March 2026.

In recent years, Japan has seen declining labor populations due to aging and low birthrates. Against this backdrop, demand is growing for talent possessing not only language skills but also specialized expertise and global adaptability, driven by the advancement of AI and digital transformation (DX), recovery in inbound tourism demand, overseas expansion, and increasing needs for multilingual support.

This survey confirmed that foreign talent is being increasingly utilized across diverse fields—from digital marketing, mechanical and robotics design, construction management, and hotel/inbound services to interpretation and sales. It also indicates that the use of foreign talent in Japanese companies is evolving from merely addressing labor shortages to becoming core human resources supporting business growth and global operations.

◆Survey Methodology

We aggregated data on occupations and expected annual salaries for active members of NINJA who secured job offers between April 2025 and March 2026. Approximately 80% of the surveyed foreign professionals hold residency statuses such as permanent resident, Japanese citizen, Technical/Humanities/International Services, Student, or Specified Activities—primarily consisting of highly skilled foreign professionals or those on track to qualify.

For comparative data, we referenced Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s "2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure" for average wages among university graduates in Japan, including starting salaries, workers aged 25–29, 30–34, and the "Specialist/Technical Fields (excluding Specified Skilled Worker status)" category.

◆Purpose of the Survey

Japan’s population decline is expected to deepen, making labor shortages, overseas expansion, multilingual support, and technical succession increasingly critical challenges for Japanese enterprises. In this context, foreign talent with Japanese proficiency plus specialized knowledge and technical skills are becoming increasingly vital for the sustainable growth of Japanese companies.

This survey aims to visualize current employment trends for foreign talent seeking work in Japan and hiring needs from Japanese companies, thereby deepening understanding and promoting appropriate employment practices.

◆Survey Overview and Results

1. Average Annual Salary for New Graduates (No Prior Work Experience, Domestic or International)

According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s "Basic Survey on Wage Structure," the average starting monthly salary for university graduates in 2025 is JPY 262,300, amounting to an annual salary of JPY 3,147,600—an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous year.

In contrast, the average annual salary for foreign new graduates hired via NINJA reached JPY 3,412,000, surpassing the national average for Japanese university graduates.

Particularly high salary levels were observed in fields requiring specialized knowledge and strong communication skills, such as presales, life sciences, robotics design, advertising and branding, and real estate specialties.

This reflects intensifying competition in Japan’s entry-level hiring market, with Japanese companies increasingly investing in foreign talent who possess not only Japanese language ability but also specialized expertise and global adaptability.

Additionally, in the new graduate category, the proportion of placements in "retail, sales, and service" roles decreased from 31.1% in 2024 to 21.9% in 2025. This suggests a shift in hiring demand for foreign talent from primarily sales and customer service roles toward broader positions such as general staff, sales, IT, and construction.

▼ Average Annual Salary by Sub-Occupation: New Graduates (PDF) ▼

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SMgi7zuCjdKyni3yJx6enD43HrYK3Sat/view?usp=sharing

2. Average Annual Salary for Experienced Professionals

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s "Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025)," the average annual salary for Japanese university graduates aged 25–29 is JPY 3,556,800 (up 4.4% year-on-year), and JPY 4,083,600 for those aged 30–34 (up 4.6%).

In comparison, the average age of experienced foreign professionals hired via NINJA was 30.1 years, with an average annual salary of JPY 3,630,000—positioned between the national averages for Japanese workers aged 25–29 and 30–34.

In 2025, foreign talent utilization expanded across diverse fields supporting business operations and customer service, including sales, interpretation and sales support, hotel and accommodation services, digital marketing, mechanical and robotics design, and construction management.

Notably, the placement ratio for "sales, interpretation-sales, store staff, and beauty advisors" increased from 3.8% in 2024 to 7.5% in 2025, while "hotel and accommodation services" rose from 10.3% to 12.6%. This reflects growing demand for foreign talent amid the recovery of inbound tourism and rising needs for multilingual customer service.

Although the overall placement ratio for IT, web services, and gaming sectors declined from 15.3% in 2024 to 12.3% in 2025, average salaries for digital marketing-related roles rose from JPY 4.145 million to JPY 4.439 million, driven by corporate DX and AI adoption. This indicates sustained high demand for highly skilled digital professionals.

Furthermore, the share of placements in mechanical, electrical, and electronic engineering increased from 4.8% to 6.5%, and in real estate, construction, civil engineering, and plant sectors from 3.8% to 6.1%. This confirms expanding utilization of foreign talent in specialized technical fields, driven by talent shortages in advanced manufacturing, construction, and infrastructure.

Top-paying occupations by average annual salary included: Project Manager (Web, mobile, apps) at JPY 5.5 million, Technical and Specialist Consulting at JPY 5.128 million, Production Technology and Management (materials, food, pharmaceuticals) at JPY 5 million, Construction Consultant and Business Planning at JPY 4.849 million, and In-house Systems Engineer at JPY 4.766 million—highlighting high market value in DX, specialized consulting, manufacturing technology, and construction planning.

These results confirm rising demand for foreign talent with both specialized expertise and global adaptability in key sectors driving Japanese corporate operations and growth—including AI, IT, inbound tourism, manufacturing, and construction.

Additionally, foreign talent utilization is expanding beyond technical fields into international customer service and business operations.

Looking ahead, as Japanese companies face population decline, labor shortages, and growing needs for AI adoption, overseas expansion, and inbound response, the strategic use of foreign talent with specialized skills and global capabilities will become increasingly critical.

▼ Average Annual Salary by Sub-Occupation: Experienced Professionals (PDF) ▼

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1578i2vQbnhOa38fcrJzSfowhvSIVMfDW/view?usp=sharing

About NINJA

NINJA is a career support platform for foreign professionals, with talent registered from over 160 countries, primarily requiring business-level Japanese or higher. The platform hosts a large number of foreign job seekers open to recruitment outreach and specializes in connecting Japanese companies with foreign talent in fields such as IT, engineering, international sales, and multilingual support.

NINJA publishes selected statistical data on a monthly basis.

▼ NINJA Statistics (Media Report) ▼

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f2kiBnLe8TJIfa7sBAQHAeMX04W6mMso/view

◆For companies considering hiring foreign talent: https://nextinjapan.com/company-landing ◆For job seekers: https://nextinjapan.com/

Company Overview

Company Name: Global Power Inc. Representative: President and CEO Yukiichi Takeuchi Founded: August 11, 2004 Head Office: 5F, Sawa Building, 1-10-6 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan Business Activities: Foreign talent recruitment, dispatch services, operation of the job and career transition site "NINJA" for foreign nationals

◆Global Power Homepage: https://globalpower.co.jp/