JJapan Finance

People that make around 20 000 000¥ a year what do you work as?

  • May 7, 2026

I'm just curious honestly, it's also what I aspire to earn in the future. So don't take this too seriously, I'm just curious about what career do you have and how much years of experience 😄

by VanillaTemporary9161

27 comments

  1. I personally don’t make this amount but my friends who do are all engineers (software, electronics and hardware)

  3. I hit 20 million total comp at about 40 years old. Now late 40s and getting close to 30 million. Probably way slower to get there than many people in this sub but everyone walks their own path.

    Can’t go into any detail about my role but senior manager at major US tech company in Tokyo

  4. Might not be inspiring, the usual FAANG eng reaches that in 3-4 yoe. I think I got that at 25yo 😅

    Edit: Not sure why this gets downvoted but anyone can check the data on opensalary.jp, just check the yoe there

  5. Senior Salesforce Solution Architect with 8 years experience and 24 x certified.

    Also Youtuber with 2 pretty decent performing channels, one which is Japan kids content getting about 4.5million views a month and one about Liverpool Football with 107 paying monthly members.

    Always happy to help and answer any questions

  6. I’m not from japan. But is this considered very high ? It’s about 125k usd. What top percentile is this salary in japan ? Is this a director level salary at big Japanese corps e.g. Sony, Toyota ?

  7. I would say really it’s people who own their own business or work high end corporate job or work in IT.

    I don’t make that much for my main job but I do stock trading and look into multi-streams of income to get me in higher income situation.

    The only Japanese people I’ve met that are making 20mil+ yen are SMB owners.

  8. I don’t earn that, but I have friends in finance (M&A advisory, private equity etc.) who earn that

  9. Director in a global company, looking after a couple dozen of our products in Japan. Fully bilingual work with 10 yrs of experience and consulting background. Long hours and dedication needed.

  10. I make 14M¥ base + bonus, add to that the RSUs and upside from ESPP (it’s taxed as employment income) and I hit just about 20M¥.

    I’m a simple IC working as a product manager/BSA/developer in an international tech infrastructure company.

  11. Software Engineer with roughly 14 years experience. Worked at both US companies and Japanese.

  13. Reading these replies makes me feel like a fucking loser lol. I am never going to be able to retire.

  14. If you wanna make 20 000 000 ¥, aim for 100 000 000 ¥.

    *Ancient Mesopotamian Proverb by Nabu-mukin-apli the Silent*

    Joke aside, go for it, full blast. Don’t “aspire” 😄

  17. There are many paths up the mountain.

    I’m a small business owner, done it multiple times across cleaning, staffing, and consulting though all are US-based so the exchange rate certainly helps me there.

  18. Software dev, 17 years of experience, I’ve mostly worked for Japanese companies over my 10 years here.

    FWIW I don’t believe 20 is as unrealistic as some might think, nor do I believe it’s a ceiling. In my case I did have to move a bit between companies where necessary while not caring too much about job title. I’ve already been “demoted” twice but received a higher salary each time.

  19. I hit 20m in my 30s(still in my 30s!). I work for a Japanese company and understand it’s rare outside of foreign companies. It’s a financial institution where I manage a team, building and supporting various software products.

  20. Biotech, patents, upper management. Have terminal degrees in my fields

  26. I make ¥26,962,000 working for the US government. Free housing and utilities.

  27. Software engineer, hit 20m after 6 years of experience. It’s more about where you work rather than experience. The pay bands are very different across companies. I’d say it’s also getting more difficult to get much higher than 20m nowadays since foreign tech companies are trying to lower compensation across the board. On the other hand, I feel like there are more options in the 15-20m range compared to 5-10 years ago.

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