Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Japan

Japan: Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence was 10.67 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
10.67 Percentage of full-time employment
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
26th
of 37 countries
All-time high
18.83 Percentage of full-time employment
in 1985
All-time low
10.3 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2022
Years of data
51
1975–2025

Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Japan, 1975–2025

05101520197520002025

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of full-time employment.

Analysis

The most recent figure for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Japan is 10.67 Percentage of full-time employment, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Japan peaked at 18.83 Percentage of full-time employment in 1985 and was at its lowest, 10.3 Percentage of full-time employment, in 2022.

Japan ranks 26th of 37 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 17.33 Percentage of full-time employment 15.96 Percentage of full-time employment 18.82 Percentage of full-time employment 5
1980s 18.5 Percentage of full-time employment 18.03 Percentage of full-time employment 18.83 Percentage of full-time employment 10
1990s 15.74 Percentage of full-time employment 14.58 Percentage of full-time employment 17.62 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2000s 14.96 Percentage of full-time employment 14.3 Percentage of full-time employment 16.1 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2010s 13.37 Percentage of full-time employment 11.79 Percentage of full-time employment 14.48 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2020s 10.56 Percentage of full-time employment 10.3 Percentage of full-time employment 10.88 Percentage of full-time employment 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 23 France 11.69 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  2. 24 Belgium 11.61 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  3. 25 Luxembourg 11.42 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  4. 27 Finland 9.88 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  5. 28 Greece 9.73 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  6. 29 Denmark 9.72 Percentage of full-time employment compare

See the full ranking of 48 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Japan?
Incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Japan was 10.67 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 18.83 Percentage of full-time employment in 1985.
What is the lowest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 10.3 Percentage of full-time employment in 2022.
How does Japan rank for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence?
Japan ranks 26th out of 37 countries with data for 2025.
Is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incidence-of-low-and-high-pay-low-pay-incidence/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence
Unit
Percentage of full-time employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
48 places, 904 data points, 1973–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains series on the incidence of low-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning less than two-thirds of gross median earnings of all full-time workers; the incidence of high-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning more than one-and-half time gross median earnings of all full-time workers.