Last updated: 31 October 2026
Figures, prices and terms were checked against the Immigration Services Agency’s guidance and NTA Taxanswer on 6 August 2026, and against the MHLW minimum wage list on 1 October 2026 (each prefecture’s start date confirmed by 5 October). They change – check the current terms yourself before you sign up or file anything.
In short
- To work part-time as a student, you need Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted – it is free and you can apply the moment you land.
- You can work up to 28 hours a week while classes are in session. Add up every job you have – the limit is 28 hours total, not per job. During the school’s long vacation periods Immigration allows 8 hours a day; the Labour Standards Act separately caps you at 40 hours a week.
- Breaking this rule risks a denied visa renewal or deportation. Losing your ability to study in Japan over a part-time job is the worst possible trade.
- Find work through your school, a friend, a major job site, or a free government window. Never apply to a “high pay, same-day cash” job posted on social media.
- The minimum wage is the law everywhere. Every prefecture pays at least 1,000 yen an hour (Tokyo 1,280 yen from 1 October 2026; the lowest new rate is Miyazaki’s 1,085 yen. Okinawa stays at 1,023 yen until 1 December and becomes 1,086 yen from 2 December).
- At the new FY2026 minimum wages, 28 hours a week comes to 121,520 to 143,360 yen a month (Miyazaki to Tokyo), before tax and deductions.
With the counting rule and the wage floor clear, you keep the job without ever putting the visa at risk – the one loss that cannot be undone.
- How much can you earn from a part-time job?
- The big picture: 4 steps to your first part-time job
- The work permit: what it is and how to get it (free)
- The 28-hour rule: the single most important number
- When does the week start? (counting the 28 hours)
- Jobs you cannot take, and what happens if you break the rules
- Four safe ways to find a job
- Popular jobs, typical pay, and how much Japanese you need
- Getting paid: taxes, and building the basics
- If something goes wrong (unpaid wages, sudden firing)
- Frequently asked questions
- Q. What happens if I work without the permit?
- Q. If I go over 28 hours just once, do I get deported right away?
- Q. Can I work two part-time jobs at once?
- Q. Are there jobs available if my Japanese is still around N4?
- Q. I was offered less than minimum wage.
- Q. How much can I work during long school breaks?
- Summary
- Related guides
How much can you earn from a part-time job?
Working the full 28 hours a week during term at the new FY2026 minimum wages, you earn 121,520 to 143,360 yen a month, before tax and deductions, depending on the prefecture. Prefectures still before their start date pay less: Okinawa stays at 1,023 yen until 1 December, which comes to 114,576 yen. That is 28 hours over four weeks, or 112 hours, multiplied by the hourly rate.
- Tokyo (1,280 yen an hour): 1,280 x 112 hours = 143,360 yen
- National weighted average (1,177 yen): 1,177 x 112 hours = 131,824 yen
- Miyazaki (1,085 yen, the lowest new rate): 1,085 x 112 hours = 121,520 yen
Your hourly pay can never be lower than the minimum wage for your prefecture. A job that pays more than the minimum earns you more. What you cannot do is add hours. During term, all your jobs together stop at 28 hours a week.
When I asked a friend about it, the answer was: I work on my days off too. Shifts on your day off still count toward the same 28 hours. Add them to your weekday hours and keep the total at or under 28. Even working that much, you do not reach the average an international student in Tokyo spends, 199,000 yen a month including tuition. How big the gap is, and which costs you can cut, is broken down line by line in the cost of living for international students in Japan.
The big picture: 4 steps to your first part-time job
Starting a part-time job (arubaito) in Japan follows a simple order. Follow it and you stay legal without having to think twice.
The work permit: what it is and how to get it (free)
Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted Under the Status of Residence Previously Granted is what Immigration calls the work permit that lets a student visa holder take a part-time job. A student visa is issued for studying, so working legally requires this separate authorization.
There are two ways to get it, and both are free:
- On arrival: apply at the airport when you receive your residence card. This is the easiest route for new students
- After arrival: submit the application form at your local immigration office. Some schools handle this for you, so check with your school office first
Once approved, your residence card gets a stamp on the back reading something like “Permitted: up to 28 hours per week, in principle.” Employers check for this stamp during interviews. If you are nervous about what to say on the application call and in the interview itself, practise the Japanese phrases for a part-time job out loud first.
Full procedures are on the Immigration Services Agency official page.
The 28-hour rule: the single most important number
The shop is short-staffed, and your manager asks if you can take one more shift, just this week. Where you come from, a student working extra in a busy week may be completely ordinary. In Japan, on a student visa, every single week has to stay at or under 28 hours, and going over by even a few hours counts as a violation.
Student visa holders can work up to 28 hours a week (Immigration Services Agency: work permission for student visa holders, in Japanese). Here are the most common misunderstandings, cleared up.
- “Just 30 hours this one busy week” is still a violation: every single week has to stay at or under 28 hours
- Overtime counts too: if your normal shifts already add up to 28 hours, a little overtime pushes you over. Leave yourself some margin. Hours beyond 8 in a day are paid at least 25% extra
- You cannot work while on leave of absence or after graduating: the permit assumes you are actively enrolled and studying. Thinking of a leave? Check what a leave of absence does to your visa and work first
When does the week start? (counting the 28 hours)
People know the number and still trip here. “One week” does not mean Sunday to Saturday.
Immigration looks at any consecutive seven days. Whichever day you start counting from, the total across those seven days must not exceed 28 hours. Fit exactly 28 hours into Monday-to-Sunday and you can still be over: count Wednesday to the following Tuesday and it might come to 32.
In practice the safest approach is to pick your own start day and keep it fixed. Decide that your week begins on Monday, add up each week, and do the adding before you accept a shift. Counting afterwards changes nothing.
Watch out if you hold two jobs. The 28 hours cover everything you work, added together. Twenty hours at one place and twelve at another is 32 hours, and you are over. Neither employer can see the other’s rota. You are the only person who can track the total. A paid internship counts towards the same total, and one over 28 hours a week needs a separate individual permit for internships.
And going over is not treated lightly. Exceeding by even a few hours counts as a violation. “It was only a little” is not a defence.
Jobs you cannot take, and what happens if you break the rules
A friend finds you a dishwashing job at a snack bar: kitchen only, never in front of customers, so it should be fine. Where you come from, that may well be true. In Japan, on a student visa, work at places like snack bars or pachinko parlors is banned even in back-of-house roles like washing dishes.
Even if your hours are fine, some workplaces are off-limits entirely.
- Anything connected to the adult entertainment industry is banned outright: hostess clubs, snack bars, pachinko parlors, game centers (arcades), mahjong parlors. Even “indirect” jobs there like serving or dishwashing are prohibited
- “High pay, same-day cash” jobs advertised on social media are crimes: “just receive a package,” “just lend us your bank account,” for tens of thousands of yen – this is a front for organized crime (yami baito, or dark part-time jobs), and taking one gets you arrested as a criminal. Plenty of Japanese students have fallen for these too. Social media also runs the reverse trick: someone posing as a fellow international student invites you to invest, then disappears with your money (see scams in Japan that target foreigners). Never apply, and warn your friends about it
If a rule violation is found – too many hours, a banned industry, or no permit at all – here is what can happen:
- Your visa renewal can be denied (meaning you have to leave Japan)
- In serious cases, you can face deportation
- The employer who hired you can also be punished (for aiding illegal work)
Losing your entire study-abroad plan over part-time pay is the biggest possible loss. The hour limit is the one rule you cannot bend.
Four safe ways to find a job
1. Your school bulletin board or career office
Language schools and universities regularly receive job postings from companies that specifically want to hire international students. Jobs found through your school are the safest option – if a problem comes up, the school can step in on your behalf.
2. A referral from a friend or senior student
A referral from someone from your own country lets you ask about pay, duties, and workplace atmosphere before you apply. The downside is it can feel awkward to quit later. Always confirm the terms yourself, regardless of who introduced you.
3. Job sites and apps
Major job sites (Townwork, Mach Baito, Baitoru) screen listings before publishing them, so the risk of a scam job is close to zero. You can use the “foreigners welcome” filter, or the one for “students welcome,” and apply entirely from your phone.
4. Free government support for foreigners
The Employment Service Center for Foreigners run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka) and regular Hello Work offices help foreign residents find work for free. Some locations have interpreters available (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: list of Employment Service Centers for Foreigners).
Popular jobs, typical pay, and how much Japanese you need
By law, hourly pay must meet or exceed the prefectural minimum wage. Every single prefecture pays at least 1,000 yen an hour. For FY2026, Tokyo is 1,280 yen from 1 October 2026 and the lowest, Miyazaki, is 1,085 yen from 24 October; the national weighted average of the new amounts is 1,177 yen. New rates take effect from 1 October to 2 December 2026 depending on the prefecture. Fifteen prefectures, Tokyo among them, switched on 1 October. By 5 October, all 47 prefectures had fixed their dates. Until a prefecture’s start date, its previous amount (as low as 1,023 yen) applies. You can check the exact rate for your area on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare list.
| Job type | Typical hourly pay | Japanese level | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convenience store | 1,100 to 1,300 yen | Conversational (N3+) | Using Japanese daily to improve fast |
| Restaurant, front of house | 1,100 to 1,400 yen | Service Japanese (N3+) | Practicing keigo, often comes with a staff meal |
| Restaurant, kitchen | 1,100 to 1,300 yen | Light (N4+) | Starting even if you lack confidence in Japanese |
| Cleaning, hotel | 1,100 to 1,400 yen | Light (N4+) | Short morning shifts around classes |
| Warehouse, factory | 1,200 to 1,500 yen | Just enough to follow instructions | Physical work, earning quietly |
| Interpreter, language tutor | 1,500 yen+ | High (N2+) | Turning your native language into an asset |
There is really only one rule of thumb: choose by pay and by how much it improves your Japanese, together. A customer-facing job pays more than the wage suggests, because every shift is a free Japanese lesson. Learning when to use polite versus casual Japanese also helps at the interview stage.
Getting paid: taxes, and building the basics
Income tax is withheld automatically (source withholding) from your pay. For 2025 income, employment income up to 1.6 million yen a year carries no income tax (950,000 basic deduction + 650,000 minimum employment income deduction); for 2026 income the line is 1.78 million yen (1,040,000 + 740,000, in force from 1 December 2026 and applied in the December adjustment; National Tax Agency No. 1199, basic deduction, in Japanese and No. 1410, employment income deduction, checked September 2026). The old “1.03 million yen” figure is pre-reform. Year-end adjustment or a tax return can get the overpaid amount back. See our full breakdown in income tax for foreigners in Japan.
Once the money is in your account, three basics protect and grow it:
- Lower your fixed costs: a cheap SIM plan can take your phone bill down to 1,078 yen a month (Rakuten Mobile up to 3GB, tax included, Rakuten Mobile official price)
- Lower your transfer fees: Wise is the cheapest way to send money home
- Earn points on what you already spend: get a credit card you can actually get approved for as a foreigner
If something goes wrong (unpaid wages, sudden firing)
“My pay never arrived,” “the hourly rate is different from what I was told,” “I was told to quit with no warning,” “they said part-timers get no paid leave” – these are legal problems, not your fault. Do not deal with this alone; here is where to go. Harassment from a manager, or lower pay because of your nationality, can also go to government help lines in your language.
The best prevention is upfront: always get a written statement of working conditions (pay rate, shifts, duties, on paper). If a workplace tells you “there is no paper for that,” it is safer to work somewhere else. And if the job turns out different from the paper, you may end the contract at once.
The 28-hour cap also decides your insurance. Joining employer health insurance and the employee pension needs 30 hours a week, so the cap keeps you out of it. That is why nothing is deducted from your pay (student part-time work and social insurance). Weekly hours decide the workplace checkup too: below three quarters of full-time hours, your employer does not have to provide one.
Official sources: Immigration Services Agency: permission to engage in activity other than that permitted (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency: work permission for student visa holders (Japanese) / MHLW: regional minimum wages (Japanese) / MHLW: Employment Service Centers for Foreigners / National Tax Agency No. 1199 (Japanese) / National Tax Agency No. 1410 (Japanese) (checked 26 September 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Q. What happens if I work without the permit?
It counts as illegal work, which can lead to a denied visa renewal or deportation. Always get the permit before you start working – it is free to apply.
Q. If I go over 28 hours just once, do I get deported right away?
One small overage will not trigger immediate deportation, but it is recorded and can count against you at your next visa renewal. The dangerous mindset is thinking “just once is fine.”
Q. Can I work two part-time jobs at once?
Yes. But the combined hours across every job must stay within 28 hours a week – the limit is not 28 hours per job.
Q. Are there jobs available if my Japanese is still around N4?
Yes. Kitchen work, cleaning, hotel bed-making, and warehouse or factory jobs need less Japanese to start. A common path is starting there, building your Japanese on the job, then moving into a higher-paying customer-facing role.
Q. I was offered less than minimum wage.
That is illegal. Minimum wage applies to foreign workers exactly the same as anyone else. Decline the offer and report it to the Labour Standards Inspection Office or your school.
Q. How much can I work during long school breaks?
During official long vacation periods set by your school (summer, spring, and so on), Immigration allows up to 8 hours a day. Separately, the Labour Standards Act caps you at 40 hours a week. Remember to drop back to 28 hours once the break ends.
Summary
- Get your work permission (free) before you take a single shift
- Stay within 28 hours a week, counting every job combined
- Adult-entertainment jobs and “easy money” social media offers can end your time in Japan – avoid both completely
- Search through your school, a referral, a major job site, or the free government center
- Minimum wage is at least 1,000 yen nationwide by law. Choose by pay and by how much your Japanese improves
- Never handle a workplace problem alone – go to your school, the Labour Standards Office, or FRESC
Related guides
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