Average Mental Health Therapist Salary in Japan for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Mental Health Therapist salary for 2024 in Japan and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Japanese yen. To keep things simple, we are using the JPY currency code instead of the currency symbol ¥.

How Much Does a Mental Health Therapist Make in Japan?

A Mental Health Therapist working in Japan will typically earn around 7,523,300 JPY per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 3,685,200 JPY to the highest average salary of 11,724,400 JPY.

Average Annual Salary
7,523,300 JPY
Average Monthly Salary
626,941 JPY

Lowest Annual Salary
3,685,200 JPY
Lowest Monthly Salary
307,100 JPY

Highest Annual Salary
11,724,400 JPY
Highest Monthly Salary
977,033 JPY

These are average salaries for a Mental Health Therapist in Japan and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Mental Health Therapist to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Mental Health Therapist salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Mental Health Therapist Salaries in Japan

So we've looked at the average salaries a Mental Health Therapist will earn in Japan. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Mental Health Therapist can earn between 3,685,200 JPY and 11,724,400 JPY on average in Japan. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Mental Health Therapist in Japan is 7,669,900 JPY. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 7,669,900 JPY, and 50% of the population earn more than 7,669,900 JPY.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Mental Health Therapist salary in Japan, 25% of the population are earning less than 5,111,100 JPY while 75% of the population earn more than 5,111,100 JPY.

75% of the population earn less than 9,886,200 JPY, and 25% of the population earn more than 9,886,200 JPY.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Mental Health Therapist Salary by Experience Level in Japan

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average mental health therapist salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Mental Health Therapist in Japan that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 4,369,800 JPY.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Mental Health Therapist salary would increase to 5,614,600 JPY.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Mental Health Therapist, the average salary would be 7,750,400 JPY.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 9,599,200 JPY.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Mental Health Therapist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 10,282,900 JPY.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Mental Health Therapist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 10,966,400 JPY.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
4,369,800 JPY
2-5 Years +29%
5,614,600 JPY
5-10 Years +38%
7,750,400 JPY
10-15 Years +24%
9,599,200 JPY
15-20 Years +7%
10,282,900 JPY
20+ Years +7%
10,966,400 JPY

Mental Health Therapist Salary by Education Level in Japan

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Mental Health Therapist in Japan based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Mental Health Therapist in Japan with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 5,136,500 JPY.

  • Master's Degree. A Mental Health Therapist in Japan with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 7,067,300 JPY.

  • PhD. A Mental Health Therapist in Japan with a phd education can earn an average salary of 11,569,500 JPY.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
5,136,500 JPY
Master's Degree +38%
7,067,300 JPY
PhD +64%
11,569,500 JPY

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Japan is around 2,570,000 to 7,720,000 JPY and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Mental Health Therapist Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Japan, a male mental health therapist will earn an average of 7,703,700 JPY, while a female mental health therapist will earn around 7,285,700 JPY.

This means that a male mental health therapist earns approximately 6% more than a female mental health therapist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Japan

Male
7,703,700 JPY
Female -6%
7,285,700 JPY

Mental Health Therapist Average Pay Raise in Japan

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Mental Health Therapist in Japan is around 12% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Japan is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 12 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Mental Health Therapist in Japan can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Japan for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Japan.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
8%
Energy
7%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
5%
Travel
4%
Construction
3%
Education
2%

Mental Health Therapist Bonus and Incentive Rates in Japan

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Mental Health Therapist is a high bonus based job, with 84% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

16% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9%.

Received Bonus
84%
No Bonus
16%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Japan earn approximately 4% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
6,300,400 JPY
Private Sector -4%
6,048,900 JPY

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Mental Health Therapist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Mental Health Therapist in Japan.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 8,664,400 JPY
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 6,709,300 JPY
Assistant Instructor Counseling 3,013,500 JPY
Career Counselor Counseling 7,453,000 JPY
Consultant Counseling 7,669,900 JPY
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 9,863,700 JPY
Disability Consultant Counseling 6,539,600 JPY
Employment Counselor Counseling 7,561,700 JPY
Family Advocate Counseling 5,017,100 JPY
Family Services Specialist Counseling 5,975,000 JPY
Family Support Specialist Counseling 8,521,700 JPY
Family Youth Worker Counseling 2,495,600 JPY
Guidance Counselor Counseling 7,703,700 JPY
Guidance Director Counseling 9,046,100 JPY
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 8,626,600 JPY
Programs Coordinator Counseling 4,260,400 JPY
Psychologist Counseling 10,956,400 JPY
Supervising Counselor Counseling 8,362,500 JPY
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 7,942,800 JPY
Youth Advocate Counseling 4,332,900 JPY
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 8,111,500 JPY
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 4,846,300 JPY
Youth Development Manager Counseling 9,754,300 JPY

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Japan, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Fukuoka 8,087,400 JPY
Hiroshima 6,875,100 JPY
Kawasaki 7,224,700 JPY
Kobe 7,980,700 JPY
Kyoto 7,416,400 JPY
Nagoya 7,703,700 JPY
Osaka 8,279,300 JPY
Saitama 7,404,700 JPY
Sapporo 7,930,200 JPY
Sendai 7,045,600 JPY
Tokyo 8,638,900 JPY
Yokohama 8,038,700 JPY

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