National average
¥1,177
up from ¥1,121
Tokyo
¥1,280
from 1 October
Lowest
¥1,085
Miyazaki
106万円 wage test
Abolished
from 1 October 2026
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) FY2026 list and Japan Pension Service, checked 6 October 2026.
Is your salary above the minimum wage?
Gross, before deductions
Average 所定労働時間, excluding overtime
固定残業代 / みなし残業, if any
These don't count toward the minimum
¥1,375 an hour against Tokyo's ¥1,280 minimum: above it
Countable pay of ¥220,000 over 160 hours clears the minimum by ¥95 an hour.
PayMetric Labs' own check using MHLW's FY2026 rates. Industry-specific minimum wages (特定最低賃金) can be higher. Not legal advice.
Japan minimum wage 2026 by prefecture
Hourly rates for FY2026 (令和8年度) with the date each one takes effect. Before that date, the previous rate still applies.
| Prefecture | 2026 | Before | Rise | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido 北海道 | ¥1,131 | ¥1,075 | +56 | 1 Oct |
| Aomori 青森 | ¥1,090 | ¥1,029 | +61 | 29 Oct |
| Iwate 岩手 | ¥1,090 | ¥1,031 | +59 | 1 Dec |
| Miyagi 宮城 | ¥1,098 | ¥1,038 | +60 | 1 Oct |
| Akita 秋田 | ¥1,090 | ¥1,031 | +59 | 14 Oct |
| Yamagata 山形 | ¥1,092 | ¥1,032 | +60 | 30 Oct |
| Fukushima 福島 | ¥1,094 | ¥1,033 | +61 | 16 Oct |
| Ibaraki 茨城 | ¥1,136 | ¥1,074 | +62 | 18 Oct |
| Tochigi 栃木 | ¥1,125 | ¥1,068 | +57 | 1 Oct |
| Gunma 群馬 | ¥1,120 | ¥1,063 | +57 | 3 Oct |
| Saitama 埼玉 | ¥1,196 | ¥1,141 | +55 | 1 Oct |
| Chiba 千葉 | ¥1,195 | ¥1,140 | +55 | 1 Oct |
| Tokyo 東京 | ¥1,280 | ¥1,226 | +54 | 1 Oct |
| Kanagawa 神奈川 | ¥1,279 | ¥1,225 | +54 | 1 Oct |
| Niigata 新潟 | ¥1,108 | ¥1,050 | +58 | 1 Oct |
| Toyama 富山 | ¥1,119 | ¥1,062 | +57 | 1 Oct |
| Ishikawa 石川 | ¥1,113 | ¥1,054 | +59 | 3 Oct |
| Fukui 福井 | ¥1,112 | ¥1,053 | +59 | 4 Oct |
| Yamanashi 山梨 | ¥1,113 | ¥1,052 | +61 | 1 Nov |
| Nagano 長野 | ¥1,117 | ¥1,061 | +56 | 2 Oct |
| Gifu 岐阜 | ¥1,121 | ¥1,065 | +56 | 1 Oct |
| Shizuoka 静岡 | ¥1,154 | ¥1,097 | +57 | 15 Oct |
| Aichi 愛知 | ¥1,195 | ¥1,140 | +55 | 1 Oct |
| Mie 三重 | ¥1,143 | ¥1,087 | +56 | 1 Oct |
| Shiga 滋賀 | ¥1,136 | ¥1,080 | +56 | 3 Oct |
| Kyoto 京都 | ¥1,180 | ¥1,122 | +58 | 16 Nov |
| Osaka 大阪 | ¥1,231 | ¥1,177 | +54 | 1 Oct |
| Hyogo 兵庫 | ¥1,172 | ¥1,116 | +56 | 1 Oct |
| Nara 奈良 | ¥1,107 | ¥1,051 | +56 | 4 Oct |
| Wakayama 和歌山 | ¥1,101 | ¥1,045 | +56 | 3 Oct |
| Tottori 鳥取 | ¥1,090 | ¥1,030 | +60 | 3 Oct |
| Shimane 島根 | ¥1,092 | ¥1,033 | +59 | 10 Oct |
| Okayama 岡山 | ¥1,104 | ¥1,047 | +57 | 2 Oct |
| Hiroshima 広島 | ¥1,141 | ¥1,085 | +56 | 11 Oct |
| Yamaguchi 山口 | ¥1,101 | ¥1,043 | +58 | 8 Oct |
| Tokushima 徳島 | ¥1,103 | ¥1,046 | +57 | 1 Nov |
| Kagawa 香川 | ¥1,092 | ¥1,036 | +56 | 1 Oct |
| Ehime 愛媛 | ¥1,093 | ¥1,033 | +60 | 1 Nov |
| Kochi 高知 | ¥1,086 | ¥1,023 | +63 | 29 Oct |
| Fukuoka 福岡 | ¥1,114 | ¥1,057 | +57 | 4 Oct |
| Saga 佐賀 | ¥1,095 | ¥1,030 | +65 | 15 Nov |
| Nagasaki 長崎 | ¥1,087 | ¥1,031 | +56 | 2 Nov |
| Kumamoto 熊本 | ¥1,092 | ¥1,034 | +58 | 1 Dec |
| Oita 大分 | ¥1,096 | ¥1,035 | +61 | 1 Nov |
| Miyazaki 宮崎 | ¥1,085 | ¥1,023 | +62 | 24 Oct |
| Kagoshima 鹿児島 | ¥1,090 | ¥1,026 | +64 | 25 Oct |
| Okinawa 沖縄 | ¥1,086 | ¥1,023 | +63 | 2 Dec |
Source: MHLW, 令和8年度地域別最低賃金全国一覧. Some industries have a higher specific minimum wage (特定最低賃金).
What the minimum wage pays per month and per year
Full time is 40 hours a week, about 173 hours a month. Take-home is after employee social insurance, income tax and resident tax for a single person under 40, with Tokyo's Kyokai Kenpo health insurance rate. PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate, from the engine behind our Japan salary calculator:
| Where | Hourly | Monthly gross | Yearly gross | Monthly take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | ¥1,280 | ¥221,867 | ¥2,662,400 | ¥179,545 |
| Osaka | ¥1,231 | ¥213,373 | ¥2,560,480 | ¥173,009 |
| National weighted average | ¥1,177 | ¥204,013 | ¥2,448,160 | ¥165,806 |
| Miyazaki (lowest) | ¥1,085 | ¥188,067 | ¥2,256,800 | ¥153,534 |
Resident tax is based on last year's income, so in your first year of work you pay less, and more the year after. Run your own figures in the Japan take-home pay calculator.
How to check your salary against the minimum wage
The minimum wage is always an hourly test, even if you're paid monthly. Take your monthly pay, remove what doesn't count, and divide by your average scheduled hours (所定労働時間) a month. The result must reach your prefecture's rate.
These don't count toward the minimum wage:
- Bonuses and anything paid less than monthly.
- One-off payments, such as a marriage allowance.
- Overtime, holiday and late-night premiums, and any fixed overtime (固定残業代) built into your salary.
- Commuting, family and perfect-attendance allowances.
Fixed overtime is where most problems show up. A job ad offering ¥240,000 a month "including 30 hours of overtime" has to clear the minimum on the base part alone. If ¥45,000 of it is fixed overtime, the test uses ¥195,000: over 160 scheduled hours that's ¥1,219 an hour, below Tokyo's ¥1,280. How overtime premiums themselves work is in our Japan overtime pay guide.
The 106万円 wall ends: part-time work from October 2026
Since 1 October 2026, part-timers no longer need to earn ¥88,000 a month (about ¥1.06 million a year) to join employee health insurance and the employee pension (Japan Pension Service). The government abolished the wage test because every prefecture's minimum wage is now above ¥1,016, the level at which 20 hours a week already pays that much.
You now join if you're scheduled for 20 hours or more a week, aren't a student, and your employer has 51 or more staff. The staff threshold is being phased out in stages over about ten years. At Tokyo's rate, 20 hours a week is ¥1,331,200 a year, so the decision is now about hours, not earnings.
Joining costs about 15% of your pay in contributions, and in return you get the employee pension on top of the basic pension, and sickness and maternity benefits. The 130万円 limit for staying on a spouse's health insurance as a dependant hasn't changed.
Checklist for your next payslip
- Find your prefecture's effective date. Pay for hours on or after it must use the new rate, even if your pay period started before it.
- Use your workplace's prefecture, not where you live. Dispatched workers use the client's workplace.
- Remove fixed overtime and allowances before dividing by scheduled hours.
- Part-time and hourly: check your hourly rate was actually raised from the effective date.
- If you work 20+ hours a week at a company with 51+ staff, expect social insurance to be deducted from October.
- If you're underpaid, keep payslips and time records, ask your employer, then contact the Labour Standards Inspection Office.
Turn any salary into take-home pay
Social insurance, income tax and resident tax for 2026.
Japan minimum wage: questions
What is the minimum wage in Japan in 2026?
It depends on the prefecture. The national weighted average is ¥1,177 an hour, up ¥56. Tokyo is ¥1,280, Kanagawa ¥1,279, Osaka ¥1,231, and the lowest is ¥1,085 in Miyazaki. Every prefecture is now above ¥1,000.
When does the new minimum wage start?
Each prefecture sets its own date, between 1 October and 2 December 2026. Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa and Aichi started on 1 October. 10 prefectures start in November or December, including Kyoto (16 November) and Okinawa (2 December). Until that date, the previous rate applies.
How much is the minimum wage per month in Japan?
Full time (40 hours a week), Tokyo's ¥1,280 works out to about ¥221,867 a month before deductions, or ¥2,662,400 a year. After social insurance, income tax and resident tax that's roughly ¥179,545 a month (PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate).
Why does my salary look above the minimum but fail the check?
Because only part of your pay counts. Commuting, family and perfect-attendance allowances, bonuses and overtime pay are taken out first, and so is any fixed overtime (固定残業代) built into your salary. What's left, divided by your scheduled hours, must reach the hourly minimum. A ¥240,000 salary with ¥45,000 of fixed overtime is really ¥195,000 for this test.
Does the minimum wage apply to foreign workers and students?
Yes. It applies to every employee, whatever their nationality, visa or contract: part-time, arubaito, dispatched, technical intern trainees and students. International students can work up to 28 hours a week with permission (資格外活動許可), which at Tokyo's rate is at least ¥35,840 a week.
Which prefecture's rate applies if I live in one and work in another?
The workplace's prefecture, not where you live. If you commute from Saitama to an office in Tokyo, Tokyo's rate applies. For a dispatched (haken) worker, it's the prefecture of the client company's workplace.
What can I do if I'm paid below the minimum wage?
Raise it with your employer first, with your payslips and hours. If that doesn't work, contact the local Labour Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署); it's free and handles minimum wage cases. Unpaid wages can be claimed back for three years, and an employer that pays below the minimum can be fined up to ¥500,000.
Is the 106万円 wall really gone?
Its wage test is. From 1 October 2026, part-timers no longer need ¥88,000 a month to join employee social insurance. If you're scheduled for 20 hours or more a week, aren't a student, and your employer has 51 or more staff, you're in. The 130万円 limit for staying on a spouse's health insurance still applies.
Methodology and limits
Rates and effective dates are from the MHLW FY2026 national list; the part-time social insurance change is from the Japan Pension Service. Checked 6 October 2026.
Monthly and yearly figures assume 2,080 scheduled hours a year. Take-home is PayMetric Labs' own modelled estimate for a single employee under 40, with employment insurance and Tokyo's health insurance rate; other prefectures' health insurance rates differ slightly. General information, not legal advice.