Minimum Wage and Wage Payment Rules

Minimum Wage and Wage Payment Rules set the floor under every job in Japan: the prefectural hourly minimum you must be paid, and the statutory rules on how those wages must reach you.¹² The figures change every October, but the payment principles and the remedy path when pay never arrives do not.

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed lawyer (bengoshi, 弁護士) or shakai hoken rōmushi (社会保険労務士, labor and social security attorney) for an unpaid-wage or deduction dispute, or the Labor Standards Inspection Office for an administrative complaint.

Overview

This article is for all employees working in Japan, on any employment type and any nationality. It applies by place of work: the minimum rate follows the prefecture where the workplace sits, while the payment rules below are national law with no prefectural variance.³²

Japan has no single national minimum wage. Each of the 47 prefectures sets its own hourly 地域別最低賃金 (chiiki-betsu saitei chingin, "regional minimum wage"), and certain industries set a higher 特定最低賃金 (tokutei saitei chingin, "industry-specific minimum wage") that overrides the prefectural rate where both apply.¹⁴⁵

The national weighted average for the FY2026 cycle is 1,177 yen per hour, with the underlying prefectural rates taking effect between October 1 and December 2, 2026 (as of 2026-09-03; confirm current figures with MHLW).⁶⁷

Prefectural Minimum Wage System

Prefectural rates differ by local conditions, so the same job can carry a different legal floor in Tokyo than in Okinawa. The system itself is stable; the numbers inside it move every year.¹⁶

How the October revision cycle works

Each summer the Central Minimum Wage Council issues a guideline increase. Each prefectural council then deliberates with that guideline as a reference, and the new rate takes effect after an objection procedure and the prefectural Labour Bureau director's decision.⁷¹

For the FY2026 cycle, the guideline issued on July 28, 2026 was 54 yen for Rank A prefectures (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Aichi, and Osaka) and 56 yen for Ranks B and C, implying a national weighted average of 1,176 yen (as of 2026-07-28; confirm current figures with MHLW).⁸ The actual outcome in the prefectural councils' recommendations was 1,177 yen, up 56 yen (as of 2026-09-03).⁶⁷

New rates take effect on a staggered schedule from October 1 to December 2, 2026, depending on the prefecture (as of 2026-09-03).⁷ Tokyo's FY2026 rate took effect October 1, 2026 (as of 2026-10-01).⁶⁹

Any labor contract term setting wages below the applicable minimum is void to that extent. The void part is deemed to promise the minimum amount, so worker consent never cures a sub-minimum term.¹

Highest and lowest prefectures

Tokyo is the highest prefecture in the FY2026 cycle. Kanagawa sits just below it, and the floor prefectures have moved upward. All figures below are hourly and dated to their effectiveness.

Prefecture	Hourly rate	As of	Notes
Tokyo	1,280 yen	2026-10-0169	Highest nationwide; up 54 yen from 1,226 yen
Kanagawa	1,279 yen	2026-10-016	Second highest nationwide
Osaka	1,231 yen	2026-10-016	Major-city reference; up 54 yen from 1,177 yen
Aichi	1,195 yen	2026-10-016	Major-city reference
Chiba	1,195 yen	2026-10-016	Major-city reference
Kochi	1,086 yen	2026-10-296	Regional floor band; FY2025 rate of 1,023 yen applies until this date
Miyazaki	1,085 yen	2026-10-246	Lowest nationwide; FY2025 rate of 1,023 yen applies until this date
Okinawa	1,086 yen	2026-12-026	Latest effective date nationwide; FY2025 rate of 1,023 yen applies until this date
Akita	1,090 yen	2026-10-146	Regional floor band; FY2025 rate of 1,031 yen applies until this date
National weighted average	1,177 yen	2026-09-0367	Up 56 yen from 1,121 yen; no single effective date

The table above covers the FY2026 cycle; each "As of" date is the prefecture's effective date, and the weighted-average row is dated to the recommendation round (as of 2026-09-03). MHLW lists these amounts as the councils' recommended figures, each taking effect after the prefectural Labour Bureau director's decision.⁶⁷

The gap between Tokyo at 1,280 yen and the lowest prefecture, Miyazaki at 1,085 yen, is 195 yen once both FY2026 rates are in force (as of 2026-09-03).⁶

Every prefecture continues to exceed 1,000 yen per hour. Once the last FY2026 revision takes effect on December 2, 2026, every prefecture will be at 1,085 yen or more (as of 2026-09-03).⁶ Until their own effective dates, Akita (October 14), Miyazaki (October 24), Kochi (October 29), Okinawa (December 2), and other later-dated prefectures remain on their FY2025 rates, as low as 1,023 yen (as of 2026-09-03).⁶

Check the rate for your workplace prefecture, not your home

The rate follows the workplace. A dispatch to a Tokyo client site applies Tokyo's rate even if the dispatching agency sits elsewhere.¹³

What counts toward the minimum

Only base pay for normal hours counts toward the minimum. Monthly or daily wages are converted to an hourly figure by dividing by prescribed working hours, then compared against the hourly floor.¹⁰

Excluded from the comparison	Examples
Attendance, commuting, and family allowances	Perfect-attendance, commuting, and family allowances
Temporarily paid wages	Marriage allowance and similar one-off payments
Wages paid over periods exceeding one month	Bonuses and similar
Premium pay for extra hours	Overtime, holiday, and night-work premiums

The exclusions above reflect the statutory comparison rule (confirm current details with MHLW).¹³ A nominal hourly figure padded with commuting or overtime pay can therefore still be unlawful.

Coverage is broad. The regional minimum applies to full-time, temporary, part-time, and arubaito workers with no distinction by sex, nationality, or age.³

Dispatched workers are covered by the client workplace rate.¹³ Paying below the regional minimum is punishable by a fine of up to 500,000 yen.¹³

Industry-Specific Minimum Wage

Some industries in some regions set a specific minimum above the regional floor. Where a worker is covered by both a regional and an industry-specific minimum, the higher of the two governs.⁴⁵

Which sectors have one and which rate applies

The MHLW comparison portal publishes the regional and industry-specific tables side by side. Entries that revert to the regional rate are marked there, so the portal is the reference for whether your sector carries a higher rate this cycle.⁵

The flowchart above captures the selection rule the MHLW portal applies.⁵ This article does not enumerate sectors, since the covered set varies by region and cycle; check the portal for your prefecture and industry.⁵

Wage Payment Rules: The Five Principles

Labor Standards Act Article 24 sets five principles that make wage payment a stability mechanism: money the worker can actually use, received by the worker, in full, on a predictable schedule.²¹⁰ A violation carries a fine of up to 300,000 yen under Article 120 (as of the current statute; confirm current details with MHLW).²¹⁰

Paid in full, in currency, directly to you

Wages must be paid in currency, in full, directly to the worker.² Payment in kind such as company products or vouchers is prohibited in principle.²¹⁰

Bank transfer to an account in the worker's own name is permitted with the worker's consent. Digital salary payment through qualifying funds-transfer providers has been partially permitted since April 2023, likewise with consent (as of 2023-04).⁴¹⁰

Payment to a voluntary agent, a minor's parent or guardian, or directly to a creditor for the worker's debts is not permitted. The narrow exceptions are a socially equivalent messenger such as a spouse during illness, or a court-ordered garnishment.¹⁰

Article 59 separately bars paying a minor's wages to a guardian.² Any contract term below these statutory standards is void, and the void part is governed by the statutory floor.²

Paid monthly on a fixed day

Wages must be paid at least once a month on a fixed date.² A term such as the 25th of every month or the last day of every month satisfies the rule.

A range such as between the 15th and 25th, or a floating weekday such as the third Friday, does not.¹⁰ Even an annual-salary system must be split into at least monthly installments.¹⁰ Ad hoc wages, bonuses, and MHLW-ordinance equivalents (special wages under Article 89) are excluded from the monthly and fixed-date duties.²

Final pay has its own seven-day rule

On separation or death, the employer must pay wages and return money and goods within 7 days of a right-holder's request. Undisputed portions must be paid even where part of the claim is disputed.²

No set-off and no deduction without agreement

An employer may not unilaterally offset loans or other claims against wages. Article 17 separately prohibits offsetting wages against money advanced to the worker or claims conditioned on working.²¹⁰

Partial deductions are permitted only where provided by laws and regulations, such as income tax and social insurance, or by written agreement with a majority union or majority representative.²¹⁰ Individual consent alone does not authorize a deduction; the statute requires the collective agreement.¹⁰

A deduction agreed only with you is not enough

If your employer points to your individual consent for a company-housing or purchase deduction, that alone does not satisfy the statute. The written agreement must be with the majority union or majority representative, or the deduction must be legally mandated.²¹⁰

Without a qualifying basis the employer must pay the full amount, and non-payment violates Article 24.¹⁰¹¹ Retaliation for reporting to the inspection organization is prohibited under Article 104.²

Terminology

Term	Reading	Gloss
最低賃金	saitei chingin	minimum wage1
地域別最低賃金	chiiki-betsu saitei chingin	regional (prefectural) minimum wage6
特定最低賃金	tokutei saitei chingin	industry-specific minimum wage5
労働基準監督署	rodo kijun kantokusho	Labor Standards Inspection Office12

When Wages Go Unpaid

Wage claims prescribe 3 years after the due date, or 2 years for payments due before April 1, 2020 (as of the current prescription rule).¹² Severance-pay claims prescribe 5 years (as of the same rule).¹² Act early rather than waiting out the clock.

Start with the Labor Bureau and Inspection Office

Non-payment of wages violates the Labor Standards Act and is subject to enforcement by the Labor Standards Inspection Office.¹²¹¹ The practical sequence is to confirm the wage type, amount, reason, and governing rule, then seek good-faith discussion with the employer directly or through a union.¹³

If discussion fails, file a formal report (申告, shinkoku) with the competent inspection office. The office inspects records and issues corrective guidance.¹²¹³¹¹

It handles Labor Standards Act violations such as unpaid wages and overtime, hours, dismissal procedure, and minimum-wage breaches. It does not adjudicate civil disputes such as reinstatement or damages; those go to tribunal or court.¹²

Bring the wage rules, past pay slips, and time records to support the amount claimed.¹¹

The chart above maps the remedy sequence from confirmation through suit.¹²¹³

Small-claims or civil suit for recovery

Where the administrative route does not produce payment, the worker sues through an ordinary wage-claim suit, labor tribunal, mediation, payment order, or small-claims suit.¹²¹³¹¹

Claims of 1.4 million yen or less go to summary court, with larger claims in district court.¹¹ Small-claims suit is available for claims of 600,000 yen or less. It is normally concluded in a single hearing on the first date, provided evidence is prepared in advance.¹³¹¹

The labor tribunal alternative uses a panel of one judge plus employer-side and employee-side experts. Cases run in principle within 3 sessions, averaging 82.6 days with 65.5 percent ending within 3 months on 2006 to 2024 data (as of the courts statistics compilation).¹⁴

An objection within 2 weeks converts the case to ordinary suit.¹⁴ Two financial backstops matter beyond procedure. Wage claims carry a general preferential right over the employer's total assets, ranking just below common-benefit expenses.¹⁰

Delayed interest of 14.6 percent per annum applies to final wages of resigned workers left unpaid past the deadline (as of the Wage Payment Security Act rule).¹⁰

Insolvency does not erase the claim, but recovery narrows

Where the employer is insolvent, the state advance-payment system may cover capped unpaid regular wages and retirement allowances for qualifying retirees. Bonuses are excluded and totals under 20,000 yen are excluded.¹³ File through the Labor Standards Inspection Office or the Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety.¹³

Good to know

A salary below the October revision is unlawful from its effective date

Paying pre-revision rates for work performed on or after the new effective date violates the Minimum Wage Act, even if the contract was signed earlier. Tokyo's 1,280 yen rate governs work from October 1, 2026 onward (as of 2026-10-01; confirm current figures with MHLW).¹⁶⁹ Check whether a newer rate governs your pay period if your prefecture's effective date falls later in the revision schedule, which runs to December 2, 2026 (as of 2026-09-03).⁶

Allowances do not lift you over the minimum

Commuting, attendance, family, overtime, holiday, night-work, temporary, and over-one-month wages are all excluded from the comparison. A payslip whose headline hourly figure looks compliant can still be unlawful once the excluded items are stripped out.¹³

A signed agreement to a lower wage is void

A contract term below the minimum is void to that extent and deemed to promise the minimum. This applies regardless of the worker's signature, since the minimum has mandatory force.¹

Dispatched workers follow the client-site rate

A dispatched worker is covered by the minimum wage of the client workplace. A dispatch to a Tokyo client applies Tokyo's rate even if the dispatching agency sits in a lower-rate prefecture.¹

See also

• Service Overtime and the Karoshi Discourse
• Compensation Components Beyond Base Salary
• Reading a Japanese Employment Contract
• Fixed-Term vs. Permanent Contracts and the 5-Year Conversion Rule
• The Labor Bureau (Rodo-Kijun-Kantokusho)
• The Labor Tribunal (Rodo-Shinpan)

References

Footnotes

1. Japanese Law Translation (Ministry of Justice). "Minimum Wage Act" (最低賃金法), Act No. 137 of 1959. https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3937/en ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

2. Japanese Law Translation (Ministry of Justice). "Labor Standards Act" (労働基準法), Act No. 49 of 1947. https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3567/en ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

3. Tokyo Labour Bureau. "東京都最低賃金は10月3日から時間額1,226円になります" (Tokyo minimum wage press release, 1,226 yen effective Oct 3 2025). https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/tokyo-roudoukyoku/content/contents/002404994.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

4. JETRO 4.4 Wages. https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/section4/page4.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. MHLW minimum wage portal. https://saiteichingin.mhlw.go.jp/table/page_indlist_nationallist.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

6. 厚生労働省 (MHLW). 「令和8年度 地域別最低賃金 全国一覧」 (FY2026 regional minimum wage table). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11200000/001753404.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹

7. 厚生労働省 (MHLW). 「全ての都道府県で地域別最低賃金の改定額が答申されました」 (2026-09-03). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_75950.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

8. 厚生労働省 (MHLW). 「令和８年度地域別最低賃金額改定の目安について」 (2026-07-28). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_74920.html ↩

9. Tokyo Hello Work. "令和8年度 東京都最低賃金額改定のお知らせ" (Tokyo minimum wage revision notice, 1,280 yen from Oct 1 2026). https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/tokyo-hellowork/list/ouji/important_topics/071003_saiteitingin.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Monolith Law Office wage-payment explainer. https://monolith.law/en/general-corporate/minimum-wage-law-japan ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

11. Japan Labor Lawyers Group unpaid-wage FAQ. https://roudou-bengodan.com/faq_category/case04/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

12. Houterasu workplace and labor Q07. https://www.houterasu.or.jp/site/english/workplaceandlabor.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

13. MHLW wage-claim guide. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11200000/001681225.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

14. Courts.go.jp labor tribunal page. https://www.courts.go.jp/saiban/syurui/syurui_minzi/minzi_25_21/index.html ↩ ↩²