Japan Minimum Wage: Check Your Prefecture and Effective Date

Start with the workplace prefecture and the date of work. Open the official regional minimum-wage lookup and read the hourly amount together with its effective date. Then check whether an industry minimum also applies.

Use MHLW's revision schedule to check an announced increase: a listed new rate may still be in the future.

Official sources checked: October 6, 2026.

Which Official Source Do You Need?

The rate and comparison pages below are in Japanese; the consultation directory is in English and offers other language versions.

Look Up Your Workplace and Work Date

1. Record the workplace prefecture and work date or period. Use the workplace location; do not select a prefecture from your nationality, home address, or recruiter's office.
2. For dispatch work, use the dispatch destination. MHLW's dispatch guidance applies the destination workplace's minimum wage regardless of the dispatch agency's location. Ask the Labour Bureau about remote, multi-site, or unclear arrangements before choosing a row.
3. Find the prefecture's regional row. Read the amount, hourly unit, and effective date together. Follow the prefecture link for its local notice.
4. Read every date in parentheses. から means “from”; まで means “through.” Parentheses may show a future increase or a previous amount. The largest number is not necessarily the rate for your work date.
5. For earlier work, find the earlier rate. Use the row's previous amount, the history links above, or the prefectural notice. If a history table does not cover your date, ask the responsible office.
6. Check industry coverage and dates separately. Save the official source and date checked; take unresolved coverage or calculation questions to the office below.

Japanese Labels to Recognize

Reiwa 8 (令和8) is 2026; Reiwa 7 (令和7) is 2025. For example, 令和8.10.29 means October 29, 2026. Some portal navigation still says FY2025: read the actual row and notice dates rather than relying on that label.

Regional Rates: Tokyo and Aomori Examples

These examples were checked on October 6, 2026. They illustrate date boundaries; they do not determine an individual worker's final applicable minimum.

Who Is Covered? What About Industry Rates?

MHLW's coverage guidance includes part-time, temporary, and other employees regardless of their employment label. Being foreign, a student, on probation, or in training is not an automatic exemption from the regional minimum wage. Specified individual reductions require Labour Bureau authorization. Ask the office about an exemption claim or unclear employment status; do not assume employee rules cover every freelance contract.

For an industry minimum, read the prefectural notice's coverage and exclusions; a job title or table marker cannot settle applicability. Check its unit and effective date too. When both regional and industry minimum wages apply on the relevant work date, MHLW requires the higher amount. Do not assume an older industry row is still higher than a revised regional rate.

Which Pay Components Count?

MHLW's eligible-wage instructions exclude components such as bonuses paid at intervals longer than a month, overtime and holiday-work pay, night-work premiums, and specified allowances, including commuting and family allowances. Not every allowance is excluded. Take-home pay and an annual compensation package are not the qualifying wage amount.

Use the official comparison method for your pay system. For monthly pay, MHLW uses average scheduled monthly hours; do not guess a divisor. The job-offer checklist helps you request a written breakdown of base pay, fixed overtime, and allowances.

Keep a Private Record and Take Questions to the Right Office

Copy this checklist into your own notes:

• Workplace address and prefecture; dispatch destination if relevant.
• Date or period worked, including any revision boundary.
• Regional hourly rate and effective date.
• Possible industry rule, coverage question, unit, rate, and effective date.
• Official source URLs, saved notices, and date checked.
• Unresolved question, responsible office/contact, and its response.

For a minimum-wage question, contact the prefectural Labour Bureau's wage department or the relevant Labour Standards Inspection Office through the official office links. Bring written working conditions, payslips, hours records, and the saved rate notice.

The English consultation directory distinguishes the charged Telephone Consultation Service for Foreign Workers from the free Labour Standards Advice Hotline. Check current language schedules; general advice does not promise representation, investigation, or wage recovery. Use our official-help directory for further service selection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there one Japan-wide hourly minimum wage?

No. Regional minimum wages are set by prefecture. A national average is not your applicable floor.

Does an announced increase apply immediately?

No. Check its effective date against the date worked, as the Aomori examples show.

What if a pay period crosses the effective date?

The revised minimum applies to work from its effective date even within a wage calculation period. See the Osaka Labour Bureau explanation; ask the responsible office about your payroll treatment. Payday does not replace the work-date check.

Can I compare a monthly salary directly with the hourly rate?

No. Identify qualifying components and use MHLW's comparison method above.

Does finding a wage rate authorize me to work?

No. Check work permission separately using the Canada working-holiday guide or language-school Student guide if that is your route.