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TokyoDev Developer Survey 2026

Current Job

💼
Employment Status

Compensation largely tracked experience. Company directors averaged the most experience, 13.7 years, and the highest compensation, 15.3 million yen, though only 14 respondents were directors. Contract employees and temporary workers averaged around seven years of experience and 7.5 to 8.3 million yen. Freelancers were the exception: they averaged 10.7 years of experience, about two years more than permanent employees, but made about the same, 11.2 million yen compared to 11.1 million yen.
Which of the following best describes your employment status?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Permanent employee (Seishain, 正社員)
544
2
Contract employee (Keiyakushain, 契約社員)
38
3
Freelancer or self-employed (Jieigyō, 自営業)
29
4
Temporary worker (Haken, 派遣)
21
5
Not employed, but looking for work
20
6
Company director (Yakuin, 役員)
14
7
Other Answers
21
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
685
93%
10

🏢
Employer Type

Those working for a Japanese subsidiary of an international company made 35% more than those working for a Japanese-headquartered company, the same gap as in 2025. This ends several years of the gap shrinking, from a peak of 93% more in 2022 to 73% more in 2023 to 47% more in 2024. That decline was driven by respondents at subsidiaries reporting lower median compensation, while the compensation for respondents at Japanese-headquartered companies remained stable.
Which of the following best describes your current employer?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Japanese company
473
2
Japanese subsidiary of international company
115
3
International company (no Japan subsidiary)
40
4
Sole proprietorship
22
5
Other Answers
15
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
655
89%
10

💬
English Usage

Respondents who always used English had the highest compensation, with a median of 10.5 million yen. They were also the least likely to work for a Japanese-headquartered company: 66% did, compared to 94% of those who never used English.
How frequently do you use English at your workplace?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Never
31
2
Rarely
41
3
Sometimes
52
4
Frequently
105
5
Always
440
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
669
91%
10

💬
Japanese Usage

Respondents who never used Japanese with colleagues stood out in how they worked. 30% of them worked fully remotely, twice the rate of any other group.

They also worked the least overtime: 45% of those who never used Japanese did no overtime at all, compared to 18% of those who always used it. Overtime rose steadily with Japanese usage: 44% of respondents who always used Japanese worked 10 or more hours of overtime a month, compared to 23% of those who never used it.

How frequently do you use Japanese at your workplace?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Never
161
2
Rarely
184
3
Sometimes
100
4
Frequently
101
5
Always
124
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
670
91%
10

🔍
Job Search Status

44% of respondents who could not work remotely were looking for a job, compared to between 14% and 27% of those whose workplaces allowed remote work. Experience did not explain the difference: job seekers had the same median experience as other respondents, 8 years.
Are you currently searching for a new job?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Actively looking
163
2
Would consider switching
340
3
Not looking
184
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
687
94%
10

😡
Discrimination

Respondents who had experienced workplace discrimination were less happy with their jobs. Those who had been discriminated against because of their country of origin, the most common form of discrimination, had an average job happiness of 2.8 out of 5, compared to 3.5 overall. Those discriminated against because of a mental condition were the least happy, at 2.4.

They were also much more likely to be looking for a new job: 44% of respondents who had experienced discrimination were actively searching, compared to 18% of those who hadn't.

Have you ever experienced discrimination in the workplace based on any of the following factors?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
🚫 None
531
2
Country of origin
46
3
Age
+1
35
4
Mental conditions
27
5
Race
-2
22
6
Physical appearance or characteristics
19
7
Physical conditions
13
8
Gender
-2
13
9
Other Answers
30
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
636
87%
2
10

😁
Job Happiness

Only 17% of respondents felt negatively about their current job.

Almost none of the respondents who were very happy with their job were looking for a new one. This percentage increased the less happy respondents were, with 74% of those who were very unhappy actively searching for a new role.

How happy are you with your current job?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Very Unhappy
27
2
Unhappy
87
3
Neutral
182
4
Happy
264
5
Very Happy
101
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
661
90%
3.5
4
10

🏭
Employer Industry

E-commerce stood out for its approach to AI: 41% of respondents in e-commerce said their employer required them to use AI, double the 20% overall.
What industry or business domain is your current employer in?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
01
SaaS (Software as a Service)
222
02
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
160
03
Consulting & Services
113
04
Finance
+1
96
05
E-commerce & Retail
-1
93
06
Cloud Computing
59
07
Robotics
+8
56
08
Education
+3
41
09
Advertising
+1
40
10
Manufacturing
-4
39
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
600
82%
1.7
10

🕔
Working Hours

Flexible working hours went hand in hand with remote work. 55% of respondents who could not work remotely had fixed working hours, compared to 13% of those with hybrid arrangements and 7% of those who could choose whether to work remotely. Among fully remote respondents, 50% had fully flexible hours.
Which best describes your company's working hours policy?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Fixed working hours
94
2
Flexible working hours with core hours
361
3
Fully flexible working hours (no core hours)
205
4
Other Answers
3
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
660
90%
10

⏱️
Overtime Hours

70% of respondents worked fewer than 10 hours of overtime in a typical month, and only 7% worked 30 or more. Working more overtime wasn't associated with higher compensation.
In a typical month, how many hours of overtime do you work?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
None
216
2
Under 10 hours per month
255
3
10–19 hours per month
105
4
20–29 hours per month
46
5
30–39 hours per month
14
6
40–49 hours per month
15
7
50 or more hours per month
17
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
668
91%
9.1
5
10

💴
Overtime Pay

60% of respondents had fixed overtime (minashi zangyou) pay included in their compensation. This had little connection to how much overtime they actually worked: those with and without fixed overtime pay both worked a median of 1–9 hours of overtime a month, and half of the respondents who worked no overtime at all still received it.
Does your compensation include fixed overtime pay (みなし残業/minashi zangyō)?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Yes
399
2
No
205
3
I'm not sure
60
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
664
91%
10

🏝️
Remote Work Policy

Companies are continuing to move away from letting employees choose whether to work remotely. Last year, 32% of respondents could decide for themselves; this year, that fell to 27%. Most of the shift appears to be toward hybrid work, which rose from 43% to 46%, continuing its upward trend.

Respondents at organizations that permit remote work were happier with their job. On a scale of 1–5, those who could choose whether to work remotely had an average happiness score of 3.7, and those who worked fully remotely scored 3.6, compared to 2.9 for respondents who could never work remotely. Those in hybrid work environments scored an average of 3.4.

What best describes your employer's remote work policy?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
No remote work
62
2
Hybrid
304
3
Up to the employee
180
4
Fully remote
117
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
663
90%
10

👥
Employer Size

While only 16% of respondents worked at a company with more than 10,000 employees, 38% of respondents making 20 million yen or more worked at such a company.
How many employees does your employer have worldwide?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
1
21
2
2-9
46
3
10-19
42
4
20-99
142
5
100-499
125
6
500-999
39
7
1,000-4,999
114
8
5,000-9,999
26
9
10,000+
109
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
664
91%
2,565
300
10

💴
Total Compensation

The median total compensation of respondents was 9.5 million yen, unchanged from last year. 10% of respondents made 20 million yen or more.
What is your current total annual compensation from your current employer?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Under ¥2.9m
26
2
¥3.0-5.9m
105
3
¥6.0-8.9m
187
4
¥9.0-11.9m
133
5
¥12.0-14.9m
77
6
¥15.0-19.9m
54
7
¥20.0-29.9m
42
8
¥30.0-49.9m
18
9
Other Answers
6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
648
88%
¥11M
¥9.5M
10

💹
Income Evolution

Only 7% of respondents reported that their income had decreased over the last year. Permanent employees were the most likely to see their income rise: 68% did, compared to 43% of freelancers and 37% of contract employees.
How has your total annual compensation evolved over the past 12 months?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1
Increased
404
2
Stayed the same
204
3
Decreased
43
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
651
89%
10