Average Spray Painter Salary in Japan for 2026
A spray painter in Japan earns about 1,811,000 JPY a year. That's 71% below the national average of 6,179,700 JPY.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Japan sit around 903,500 JPY a year, while the very top stretches to 2,794,600 JPY. Everything on this page is in Japanese yen (JPY, symbol ¥), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Japan, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does a spray painter make in Japan?
A typical spray painter working in Japan brings home around 150,916 JPY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 903,500 JPY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 2,794,600 JPY for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior spray painter working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How spray painter pay ranges in Japan
A good way to think about salary in Japan is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all spray painters in Japan earn less than 1,811,000 JPY a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 1,224,800 JPY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 2,304,300 JPY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of spray painters sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 903,500 JPY. The highest stretch to 2,794,600 JPY, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Spray painter pay by experience in Japan
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a spray painter in Japan, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical spray painter salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years1,084,200 JPY
- 2-5 Years+33% from previous1,440,700 JPY
- 5-10 Years+33% from previous1,921,500 JPY
- 10-15 Years+19% from previous2,290,300 JPY
- 15-20 Years+8% from previous2,471,700 JPY
- 20+ Years+7% from previous2,653,700 JPY
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a spray painter typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Spray painter pay by education in Japan
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving spray painter pay in Japan. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average spray painter salary in Japan broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- High School1,606,100 JPY
- Certificate or Diploma+59% from previous2,557,100 JPY
Spray painter gender pay gap in Japan
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Japan is no exception. Male spray painters in Japan earn an average of 1,846,200 JPY a year, while female spray painters earn around 1,765,300 JPY. That works out to a 5% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Spray Painter gender pay gap
4%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Japan.
Pay raises for a spray painter in Japan
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Japan sees a raise of about 8% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 6% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Japan, the national average raise is around 8% every 16 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Japan:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Construction
- Education2%
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Spray painter bonus rates in Japan
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
31% of spray painters in Japan reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a spray painter a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 3% of base salary. The remaining 69% of spray painters reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Japan
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Spray painter: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Japan is about 4% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
4%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Japan on average.
Spray painter salary by city in Japan
Spray painter pay is not even across Japan. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Tokyo
- Osaka
- Fukuoka
- Yokohama
- Nagoya
- Kobe
- Sapporo
- Kawasaki
- Kyoto
- Hiroshima
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | City | 2,038,500 JPY | 2,076,600 JPY | 999,500-3,178,700 JPY |
| Osaka | City | 2,015,600 JPY | 2,015,600 JPY | 1,007,400-3,118,900 JPY |
| Fukuoka | City | 1,930,500 JPY | 2,003,200 JPY | 926,000-3,023,200 JPY |
| Yokohama | City | 1,930,500 JPY | 1,777,700 JPY | 1,042,000-2,902,500 JPY |
| Nagoya | City | 1,908,800 JPY | 2,065,400 JPY | 874,900-3,023,200 JPY |
| Kobe | City | 1,846,200 JPY | 1,955,300 JPY | 864,700-2,914,600 JPY |
| Sapporo | City | 1,800,200 JPY | 1,765,300 JPY | 919,700-2,773,700 JPY |
| Kawasaki | City | 1,751,700 JPY | 1,645,600 JPY | 927,000-2,662,900 JPY |
| Kyoto | City | 1,741,800 JPY | 1,668,900 JPY | 904,700-2,662,900 JPY |
| Hiroshima | City | 1,716,600 JPY | 1,583,700 JPY | 929,700-2,593,900 JPY |
| Saitama | City | 1,655,500 JPY | 1,678,300 JPY | 810,400-2,579,200 JPY |
| Sendai | City | 1,621,400 JPY | 1,621,400 JPY | 810,500-2,508,300 JPY |
Spray Painter in Japan: FAQs
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How much does a spray painter make per month in Japan?
A spray painter in Japan earns about 150,916 JPY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 1,811,000 JPY.
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What's the salary range for a spray painter in Japan?
Entry-level spray painters in Japan start near 903,500 JPY. Top-end pay reaches around 2,794,600 JPY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 1,224,800 and 2,304,300 JPY.
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Is the median spray painter salary in Japan higher or lower than the average?
The median is 1,811,000 JPY, higher than the average of 1,811,000 JPY. Half of spray painters in Japan earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for spray painters in Japan?
Men working as a spray painter in Japan earn around 5% more than women on average (1,846,200 vs 1,765,300 JPY a year).
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Do spray painters in Japan get bonuses?
About 31% of spray painters in Japan reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 3% of base salary.
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Do spray painters earn more in the public or private sector in Japan?
In Japan, the public sector pays a spray painter about 4% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do spray painters in Japan get a pay raise?
A spray painter in Japan sees a raise of around 8% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 6% a year.