"Monthly Salary Exceeds 10 Million Won"... The Top Job in Japan Even Doctors Envy

Analysis of 143 Occupations in Japan

Aircraft Pilots Rank First

Followed by Doctors, Management Professionals, and Professors

The highest-paid occupation in Japan has been found to be aircraft pilot.

On July 29, Japan’s Toyo Keizai analyzed the estimated annual salaries of 143 professions based on the “2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure,” which was published in March 2026 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The analysis found that aircraft pilots recorded the highest average annual salary at 16.32 million yen (approximately 145.05 million won).

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Unsplash

The survey covered regular employees working at businesses with at least 10 employees that paid salaries in June 2025. Part-time workers were excluded from the analysis. The annual salary figures were calculated by multiplying the monthly salary, which included overtime allowances, by 12 and then adding annual bonuses and special payments. Monthly salaries were based on the June 2025 payroll, while annual bonuses and other special payments generally reflected actual amounts paid from January to December 2024.

Managerial positions where the job could not be clearly classified, and cases where the specific occupation was not identified, were excluded from the rankings.

Aircraft pilot ranked first, with an average annual salary of 16.32 million yen. The average monthly salary was 1.226 million yen (about 10.89 million won), with annual bonuses totaling 1.604 million yen (about 14.25 million won). Physicians ranked second, with 15.12 million yen (approximately 134.3 million won). Only two professions surpassed an average annual salary of 15 million yen: aircraft pilot and physician.

Other high-paying professions included: other management, finance, and insurance professionals (11.35 million yen, about 100.76 million won) in third place; university professors (10.83 million yen, about 96.14 million won) in fourth; and dentists (10.63 million yen, about 94.37 million won) in fifth.

Following these were: legal professionals (9.81 million yen, about 87.13 million won); system consultants and designers (8.89 million yen, about 78.96 million won); university associate professors (8.76 million yen, about 77.80 million won); certified public accountants and tax accountants (8.11 million yen, about 72.03 million won); and researchers (8.02 million yen, about 71.23 million won).

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey, the average monthly wage for regular workers was 340,600 yen (about 3.03 million won), marking a record high. The top-paying positions were generally jobs requiring high expertise such as those in medicine, law, finance, accounting, higher education, and information technology (IT).

In contrast, among the 143 professions, building cleaners received the lowest average annual salary at 2.97 million yen (about 26.38 million won). The average annual salary for aircraft pilots was about 5.5 times higher than that of building cleaners.

However, the Toyo Keizai explained that these salary figures are estimates based on the average for general workers in each profession and that actual individual salaries may vary depending on factors such as age, years of service, company size, type of employment, and scope of work.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.