Minimum Wage in Japan

Japan's prefectural minimum wages average around 1,000 to 1,050 yen per hour in 2024, with Tokyo near 1,160, low by rich-country purchasing power.

Overview

Minimums are set prefecture by prefecture through councils, revised each October, and the weighted national average crossed the symbolic 1,000 yen line in 2023. The structure matters in a dual labor market where around forty percent of workers are non-regular, part-time and contract staff for whom the floor is binding. Successive governments have pushed faster increases toward a wage-growth agenda. Enforcement exists but small-firm compliance softens. Figures are approximate 2024 council decisions.