How pay works for SSW workers in Japan
Workers who go to Japan on the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW, 特定技能) visa are covered by Japanese labour law in the same way as Japanese employees. The rules for the visa also say your pay must be at least what a Japanese worker doing the same job earns, so the minimum wage is a floor, not a target.
Japan does not have one national minimum wage. Each of the 47 prefectures sets its own, and they are revised every autumn. For the 2026 revision the national average is 1,177 yen an hour, and Tokyo is the highest at 1,280 yen. Rural prefectures are lower. The new rates take effect between October 2026 and early 2027, depending on the prefecture, so check the rate where your job is.
A full-time job is 40 hours a week, which is about 173 hours a month. Unlike Korea, Japan does not add a paid weekly rest day on top, so monthly pay is simply the hourly wage times your hours. Many SSW jobs pay a monthly salary instead of an hourly one; if yours does, divide it by 173 to compare.
Overtime, late nights and holidays
Under Japan's Labour Standards Act:
- Overtime beyond 8 hours a day or 40 a week is paid at least 1.25 times the hourly wage. Overtime beyond 60 hours in a month is paid at 1.5 times.
- Late-night work between 10 pm and 5 am earns an extra 0.25 times on top.
- Work on a legal day off is paid at 1.35 times.
Farming and fishing jobs are exempt from the overtime and day-off rules, so extra hours there are paid at the normal rate. Late-night pay still applies. Agriculture is one of the main SSW sectors, so switch off "premium pay" in the calculator if that is where you expect to work.
What is taken from your pay
The salary on your contract is gross pay. Before it reaches you, your employer deducts:
- Employees' pension (厚生年金), 9.15% of pay. Nepal has no social security agreement with Japan, so this is normally deducted. When you leave Japan you can apply for a lump-sum withdrawal payment that returns a large part of it.
- Health insurance, about 5% of pay (the exact rate depends on the prefecture). Long-term care insurance is added only from age 40.
- Employment insurance, 0.55% of pay.
- Child support levy, a small new charge from 2026 collected with health insurance.
- Income tax. On a salary near the minimum wage this is usually 1 to 3%.
- Resident tax (住民税) starts in your second year in Japan, because it is based on the previous year's income. Expect take-home pay to drop a little from your second year.
- Housing and meals, if your employer provides them. Under SSW rules these charges must be reasonable and agreed with you in advance.
Turning yen into rupees
The calculator converts using the Nepal Rastra Bank buying rate for the Japanese yen, updated every working day. Banks and remittance services use their own rates and fees, so the amount that reaches Nepal will be a little different.
Getting there
To get an SSW job you need to pass a skills test for your industry and a Japanese language test, usually the JFT-Basic. The JFT-Basic is a computer-based test with reading and listening sections, and practising in that format is the most direct way to prepare.
Wage rules checked on 17 October 2026. Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: minimum wages, Japan Pension Service: lump-sum withdrawal.