Average Patent Attorney Salary in Japan for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Patent Attorney 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 Patent Attorney Make in Japan?

A Patent Attorney working in Japan will typically earn around 9,001,900 JPY per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 4,585,100 JPY to the highest average salary of 13,798,900 JPY.

Average Annual Salary
9,001,900 JPY
Average Monthly Salary
750,158 JPY

Lowest Annual Salary
4,585,100 JPY
Lowest Monthly Salary
382,091 JPY

Highest Annual Salary
13,798,900 JPY
Highest Monthly Salary
1,149,908 JPY

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

Patent Attorney 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 Patent Attorney Salaries in Japan

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Patent Attorney can earn between 4,585,100 JPY and 13,798,900 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 Patent Attorney in Japan is 8,820,700 JPY. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 8,820,700 JPY, and 50% of the population earn more than 8,820,700 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 Patent Attorney salary in Japan, 25% of the population are earning less than 6,035,400 JPY while 75% of the population earn more than 6,035,400 JPY.

75% of the population earn less than 11,099,800 JPY, and 25% of the population earn more than 11,099,800 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.

Patent Attorney 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 patent attorney 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 Patent Attorney in Japan that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 5,146,100 JPY.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Patent Attorney salary would increase to 6,721,800 JPY.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Patent Attorney, the average salary would be 9,409,200 JPY.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 11,303,900 JPY.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Patent Attorney with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 12,239,700 JPY.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Patent Attorney with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 13,199,100 JPY.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
5,146,100 JPY
2-5 Years +31%
6,721,800 JPY
5-10 Years +40%
9,409,200 JPY
10-15 Years +20%
11,303,900 JPY
15-20 Years +9%
12,239,700 JPY
20+ Years +8%
13,199,100 JPY

Patent Attorney 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 Patent Attorney 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 Patent Attorney in Japan with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 6,073,300 JPY.

  • Master's Degree. A Patent Attorney in Japan with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 9,036,900 JPY.

  • PhD. A Patent Attorney in Japan with a phd education can earn an average salary of 13,079,500 JPY.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
6,073,300 JPY
Master's Degree +49%
9,036,900 JPY
PhD +45%
13,079,500 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.

Patent Attorney 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 patent attorney will earn an average of 9,301,600 JPY, while a female patent attorney will earn around 8,701,100 JPY.

This means that a male patent attorney earns approximately 7% more than a female patent attorney for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Japan

Male
9,301,600 JPY
Female -7%
8,701,100 JPY

Patent Attorney 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 Patent Attorney in Japan is around 11% every 16 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 = ( 11 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Patent Attorney 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%

Patent Attorney 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 Patent Attorney is a moderate bonus based job, with 57% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

43% 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 3% to 6%.

Received Bonus
57%
No Bonus
43%

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 Patent Attorney

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Patent Attorney in Japan.

Job Title Category Salary
Administrative Law Judge Legal 17,519,700 JPY
Arbitrator Legal 7,823,800 JPY
Associate Attorney Legal 8,401,800 JPY
Attorney Legal 12,958,200 JPY
Bailiff Legal 3,946,200 JPY
Barrister Legal 3,395,900 JPY
Candidate Attorney Legal 7,331,800 JPY
Conciliator Legal 6,118,800 JPY
Contracts Associate Legal 4,129,300 JPY
Contracts Manager Legal 7,259,000 JPY
Contracts Negotiator Legal 5,686,100 JPY
Contracts Specialist Legal 4,152,200 JPY
Conveyancing Secretary Legal 3,239,400 JPY
Corporate Counsel Legal 9,142,700 JPY
Counsel Legal 8,845,500 JPY
Court Clerk Legal 2,819,600 JPY
Court Judicial Assistant Legal 4,726,900 JPY
Court Liaison Specialist Legal 5,531,100 JPY
Court Reporter Legal 4,654,300 JPY
Court Representative Legal 3,840,400 JPY
Crown Prosecution Service Lawyer Legal 17,039,100 JPY
General Counsel Legal 15,960,700 JPY
Immigration Executive Legal 8,508,800 JPY
In House Counsel Legal 8,820,700 JPY
Intellectual Property Specialist Legal 6,035,400 JPY
Judge Advocate Legal 13,919,600 JPY
Law Clerk Legal 2,854,700 JPY
Lawyer Legal 12,481,200 JPY
Legal Administrative Assistant Legal 3,229,900 JPY
Legal Advisor Legal 7,548,300 JPY
Legal Assistant Legal 3,514,400 JPY
Legal Associate Legal 6,058,300 JPY
Legal Consultant Legal 7,309,600 JPY
Legal Consultant Legal 7,606,200 JPY
Legal Counsel Legal 8,902,700 JPY
Legal Editor Legal 5,735,900 JPY
Legal Executive Legal 11,050,300 JPY
Legal Executive Secretary Legal 3,395,900 JPY
Legal IP Officer Legal 3,118,900 JPY
Legal Officer Legal 3,685,200 JPY
Legal Secretary Legal 3,349,100 JPY
Legal Services Director Legal 13,798,900 JPY
Legal Services Manager Legal 14,038,300 JPY
Legal Support Worker Legal 2,304,300 JPY
Legislative Liaison Legal 5,940,300 JPY
Litigation Attorney Legal 15,480,300 JPY
Litigation Paralegal Legal 7,655,900 JPY
Magistrate Judge Legal 18,720,200 JPY
Paralegal Legal 4,585,100 JPY
Staff Attorney Legal 9,946,300 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 9,046,100 JPY
Hiroshima 8,785,800 JPY
Kawasaki 9,025,900 JPY
Kobe 9,649,800 JPY
Kyoto 9,073,200 JPY
Nagoya 10,080,900 JPY
Osaka 9,684,600 JPY
Saitama 8,471,700 JPY
Sapporo 9,478,900 JPY
Sendai 8,242,900 JPY
Tokyo 10,919,400 JPY
Yokohama 10,297,600 JPY

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