Airline pilots have emerged as the highest-paid profession in Japan, drawing attention as the only occupation to surpass an average annual salary of 16 million yen, ahead of doctors.
On the 29th, Japanese economic outlet Toyo Keizai released an analysis of the average annual salaries of 143 occupations, based on the "2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure" published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The survey covered regular workers at businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding part-time workers. Annual salaries were calculated by converting monthly wages into yearly figures and adding bonuses and special payments.
The analysis found that airline pilots ranked first overall with an average annual salary of 16.32 million yen (about 145.05 million won). Their average monthly wage reached 1.226 million yen (about 10.89 million won), and their annual bonus amounted to 1.604 million yen (about 14.25 million won). Doctors ranked second with an average annual salary of 15.12 million yen (about 134.3 million won), and these were the only two fields with average annual salaries exceeding 15 million yen.
Professionals Dominate Top Ranks, Earning 5.5 Times the Lowest-Paid
Ranking third were professionals in management, finance, and insurance, with an average annual salary of 11.35 million yen (about 100.76 million won), followed by university professors (10.83 million yen), dentists (10.63 million yen), legal professionals (9.81 million yen), and system consultants and designers (8.89 million yen). Occupations requiring high levels of expertise, such as associate university professors, certified public accountants and tax accountants, and researchers, also occupied the top ranks.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the average monthly wage of regular workers in Japan reached 340,600 yen (about 3.03 million won), a record high. However, most high-income occupations were concentrated in fields requiring long careers and high levels of expertise.
By contrast, the occupation with the lowest average annual salary was building cleaners, at just 2.97 million yen (about 26.38 million won). Compared with airline pilots, the gap widened to about 5.5 times.
Toyo Keizai explained that because these rankings are estimated salaries calculated based on averages by occupation, they may differ from the wages individuals actually receive. Salary levels can vary significantly even within the same occupation depending on average age, years of service, company size, employment type, and job responsibilities.
