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TokyoDev Developer Survey 2025

Current Job

💼
Employment Status

Company directors had the highest median pay at ¥16 million, while temporary workers had the lowest at ¥6 million.

Directors were also the most likely to be native or bilingual English speakers, at 82%, compared to 36% of temporary workers.

Which of the following best describes your employment status?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Permanent employee (Seishain, 正社員)
749
2
Contract employee (Keiyakushain, 契約社員)
61
3
Freelancer or self-employed (Jieigyō, 自営業)
37
4
Temporary worker (Haken, 派遣)
28
5
Not employed, but looking for work
20
6
Company director (Yakuin, 役員)
17
7
Other Answers
19
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
926
92%
10

🧑‍💼️
Job Title

Those with an Engineering Manager or Manager job title made a median of ¥12.5 million. Those with a Senior Engineer title made ¥10.5 million, while Software Engineers made ¥8.5 million. System Engineers had the lowest compensation, making a median of ¥3.5 million.
What is your job title?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
01
Software Engineer
352
02
Senior Engineer
103
03
Developer
41
04
Engineering Manager
20
05
Technical Lead
17
06
Systems Engineer
17
07
Senior Developer
16
08
Manager
15
09
Director of Engineering
15
10
Programmer
14
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
805
80%
10

🏢
Employer Type

Those working for a Japanese subsidiary of an international company made 35% more than those working for a Japanese-headquartered company. The difference in pay continues to shrink, though, from a peak of 93% more in 2022 to 73% more in 2023 to 47% more in 2024. This trend has been driven by respondents at subsidiaries reporting lower median compensation, while the compensation for respondents at Japanese-headquartered companies has remained stable.
Which of the following best describes your current employer?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Japanese company
615
2
Japanese subsidiary of international company
167
3
International company
74
4
Sole proprietorship
29
5
Other Answers
21
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
891
88%
10

💬
English Usage

Respondents who always used English had the highest compensation, with a median of ¥10.5 million. They were also the least likely to work for a Japanese-headquartered company.
How frequently do you use English at your workplace?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Never
55
2
Rarely
69
3
Sometimes
59
4
Frequently
133
5
Always
599
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
915
91%
10

💬
Japanese Usage

83% of respondents who always used Japanese worked for a company headquartered in Japan, whereas only 40% of respondents who never used it worked for one.
How frequently do you use Japanese at your workplace?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Never
222
2
Rarely
229
3
Sometimes
154
4
Frequently
125
5
Always
190
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
920
91%
10

🕐
Hours per week

32% of respondents who worked 50+ hours were looking for a new job, whereas only 18% overall were.
In a typical week, how many hours do you work?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Less than 30 hours
38
2
31-35 hours
53
3
36-40 hours
401
4
41-45 hours
304
5
46-50 hours
78
6
Over 50 hours
38
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
912
90%
10

🗄️
Work Location

45% of respondents who could choose whether to work fully remotely or not still chose to go regularly into the office. Those who did go in were also less likely to be looking for a new job, at a rate of 12%, compared to 17% of those who worked regularly from a dedicated home office
Where do you usually work from?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Company office
550
2
Dedicated home office
422
3
Shared-purpose room
294
4
Café
78
5
Coworking space
38
6
Offsite personal office
23
7
Unmatched Answers
8
Cutoff Answers
7
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
903
89%
10

🔍
Job Search Status

42% of respondents who could not work remotely were looking for a job — at least twice the number of those with hybrid or fully remote workplaces. While job seekers had a median of 6 years of experience compared to 8 for others, experience did not appear to be a major factor. Even among respondents with the same level of experience, those unable to work remotely were still much more likely to be job hunting.
Are you currently searching for a new job?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Actively looking
186
2
Would consider switching
435
3
Not looking
298
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
919
91%
10

😡
Discrimination

While 32% of women reported they had been discriminated against on the basis of gender or gender identity, only 2% of men did.

The median total compensation of those who were discriminated against on the basis of political beliefs or affiliations was ¥18.5 million, double the overall median.

Have you ever experienced discrimination in the workplace based on any of the following factors?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
01
🚫 None
672
02
Race
61
03
Country of origin
61
04
Age
56
05
Gender
48
06
Physical appearance or characteristics
33
07
disability
19
08
Political beliefs or affiliations
13
09
Caregiving responsibilities
13
10
Religion or spiritual beliefs
10
11
Other Answers
24
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
837
83%
1.9
10

😁
Job Happiness

Only 16% of respondents felt negatively about their current job.

Less than 1% of respondents who were very happy with their job were looking for a new one. This percentage increased the less happy respondents were, with 61% of respondents who were very unhappy actively searching for a new role.

How happy are you with your current job?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Very Unhappy
38
2
Unhappy
107
3
Neutral
235
4
Happy
366
5
Very Happy
157
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
903
89%
3.6
4
10

🏭
Employer Industry

The gaming and consulting & services industries offered the lowest salaries, with respondents making a median of ¥7.5 million. They were also the industries in which respondents were most likely to use Japanese exclusively.
What industry or business domain is your current employer in?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
01
SaaS (Software as a Service)
334
02
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
+3
184
03
E-commerce & Retail
-2
138
04
Consulting & Services
+1
138
05
Finance
-2
131
06
Cloud Computing
80
07
Manufacturing
+1
64
08
Gaming
+1
60
09
Human Resources
+2
51
10
Advertising
-3
49
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
786
78%
1.7
10

⏳
Meeting Hours

More hours spent in meetings correlated with more professional experience. Respondents who said they never had meetings had a median of 3.6 years of experience, whereas those who reported 15 hours or more had a median of 13 years experience.
How many hours do spend in meetings in an average week?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
No time at all
19
2
Less than 1 hour
68
3
1 to 5 hours
444
4
5 to 10 hours
242
5
10 to 15 hours
92
6
Over 15 hours
42
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
907
90%
10

🏝️
Remote Work Policy

Companies are continuing to move away from letting employees choose whether to work remotely. Last year, 38% of respondents could decide for themselves; this year, that fell to 32%. Most of the shift appears to be toward hybrid work, which rose from 37% to 43%, continuing last year's upward trend.

Respondents at organizations that permit remote work were happier with their job. On a scale of 1-5, those who could work fully remotely had an average happiness score of 3.8, compared to 2.9 for respondents who could never work remotely. Those in hybrid work environments scored an average of 3.4.

What best describes your employer's remote work policy?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
No remote work
92
2
Hybrid
389
3
Up to the employee
290
4
Fully remote
141
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
912
90%
10

👥
Employer Size

While only 18% of respondents worked at a company with more than 10,000 employees, 44% of respondents making ¥20 million or more worked at such a company.
How many employees does your employer have worldwide?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
1
17
2
2-9
47
3
10-19
65
4
20-99
179
5
100-499
176
6
500-999
53
7
1,000-4,999
159
8
5,000-9,999
37
9
10,000+
163
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
896
89%
2,777.9
300
10

💴
Total Compensation

The median total compensation of respondents was ¥9.5 million, up from ¥8.5 million last year. 10% of respondents made ¥20 million or more.
What is your current total annual compensation from your current employer?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Under ¥2.9m
22
2
¥3.0-5.9m
187
3
¥6.0-8.9m
231
4
¥9.0-11.9m
176
5
¥12.0-14.9m
104
6
¥15.0-19.9m
82
7
¥20.0-29.9m
49
8
¥30.0-49.9m
29
9
Cutoff Answers
7
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
887
88%
¥10.8M
¥9.5M
10

💹
Income Evolution

Only 6% of respondents reported that their income had decreased over the last year. Those who reported a decrease tended to be more experienced, with a median of 10 years of professional experience compared to 7 years for others.
How has your total annual compensation evolved over the past 12 months?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Increased
503
2
Stayed the same
332
3
Decreased
51
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
886
88%
10