Japan Minimum Wage 2026: All 47 Prefectures and Start Dates

Checked on 17 September 2026 against the MHLW press release of 3 September 2026, its attachment listing all prefectures, and the Minimum Wage Act (e-Gov). Checked against the MHLW national list (updated 29 September) and Labour Bureau announcements on 1 October 2026, and the announcements for the last five prefectures (Iwate, Yamanashi, Saga, Kumamoto, Okinawa) on 5 October 2026: all 47 prefectures have decided their new amounts and start dates, and 15 of them took effect on 1 October. Until the start date, the previous FY2025 amount applies.

With the table in hand, you can look at your October payslip and say in one glance whether it is right, and act the same day if it is not.

Every autumn hourly pay goes up. How much in your prefecture, from when, and is your own wage below it? The news reports “Tokyo 1,280 yen”, but you may not work in Tokyo. Here are all 47 prefectures with their start dates, then how to compare your own pay, and what to do if it falls short.

FY2026 minimum wage: all 47 prefectures and start dates

The minimum wage is the hourly amount set under the Minimum Wage Act that an employer must pay at least (Arts. 3 and 4). Each prefecture’s “regional minimum wage” is revised every autumn. For FY2026, all 47 prefectural minimum wage councils answered their revised amounts by 3 September, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare compiled and published them.

The national weighted average of the new amounts is 1,177 yen, up 56 yen from 1,121 in FY2025 (MHLW national list); it is the second-largest rise since the guideline system began in 1978. Rises range from 54 to 65 yen, and the lowest amount (Miyazaki, 1,085) is now 84.8% of the highest (Tokyo, 1,280), a gap that has narrowed for 12 years running.

In all 47 prefectures the Labour Bureau director has decided the amount and the start date. On 1 October the new rates took effect in 15: Hokkaido, Miyagi, Tochigi, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Toyama, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Osaka, Hyogo and Kagawa. The last five, Iwate, Yamanashi, Saga, Kumamoto and Okinawa, were decided by 5 October. Until the start date, the amount in the “Before” column is the minimum wage. Kyoto waits until 16 November, Iwate and Kumamoto until 1 December, Okinawa until 2 December. Check your own prefecture’s date. In Tokyo, the Tokyo Labour Bureau published 1,280 yen in the official gazette on 1 September, and it took effect on 1 October. The Labour Bureaus for Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, Hokkaido, Mie and Kagawa have also announced their new amounts from 1 October. For other prefectures, check your own Labour Bureau’s page.

Quick table 1: by start date (as of 9 October 2026)

As of 9 October the new amount is already in force in 26 prefectures (15 on 1 October, plus 11 from 2 to 8 October). In the other 21, the “Before” amount applies until your prefecture’s date.

Quick table 2: the least you can earn in a 168-hour month

Tokyo (1,280 yen) is the highest and Miyazaki (1,085 yen) the lowest: a gap of 195 yen an hour, or 32,760 yen a month at 168 hours. The same job has a different floor in a different prefecture.

Does it apply to foreigners? Yes, the same amount

You are told the rate is lower at first because you are still training, and lower than the Japanese staff get. Where you come from, that may be nothing unusual. In Japan, the minimum wage draws no line by nationality, and a rate below it does not stand even if you agreed to it.

A “worker” under the Minimum Wage Act is a worker under the Labour Standards Act, with no nationality limit (Art. 2). A student’s part-time job under a permission for activities outside status, a technical intern, a Specified Skilled Worker, a full-time employee: same prefecture, same amount. Being foreign, speaking imperfect Japanese or “still training” are not grounds for paying less. A reduced rate during a trial period exists only as a special exception that needs the Labour Bureau director’s permission (Art. 7); an employer cannot decide it alone.

As a rough guide, a student working 28 hours a week in Tokyo has a floor of Tokyo’s 1,280 yen minimum wage x 28 hours x 4.3 weeks (52 weeks / 12 months), about 154,000 yen a month (before tax).

How to compare your own pay: convert to hourly, strip out allowances

1. Convert to an hourly figure. Hourly workers: as is. Daily pay: divide by scheduled hours per day. Monthly pay: divide by scheduled hours per month (8 hours x 21 days = 168 hours, for example; if the hours differ from month to month, use the average month over the year).
2. Take out the pay that does not count. Commuting allowance, bonuses, overtime pay, holiday pay and anything other than regular pay for regular hours are excluded from the comparison (Minimum Wage Act Art. 4(3) and the Enforcement Regulations, Art. 1). Only base pay and allowances paid every month as a fixed amount (a job allowance, say) go into the calculation. Overtime is paid separately, at least 25% above this hourly rate.
3. Compare with your prefecture’s amount. The “Before” figure until the start date, the new one from that day. Even one yen below is a breach.

Quick table 3: what counts toward the minimum wage and what does not

If you work through a dispatch agency, the amount of the prefecture where the client workplace is located applies (Kanagawa Labour Bureau guidance). If money is taken from your pay for a dormitory or meals, Art. 5 of the Act requires that such benefits in kind and meal charges be “appropriately valued”. If the amount looks too high, take your payslips and contract to the Labour Standards Inspection Office.

Example: 180,000 yen a month in Tokyo, 168 scheduled hours, including a 10,000 yen commuting allowance. (180,000 – 10,000) / 168 = 1,012 yen. That is below the 1,226 that applies until 30 September and below the 1,280 from 1 October. The employer must pay the difference.

What if you are below it?

A contract that sets pay below the minimum wage is void for that part, and is deemed to set the minimum wage instead (Art. 4(2)). A signed paper saying “1,000 yen an hour” does not matter: by law your hourly rate is the minimum, and you can claim the difference going back. An employer who fails to pay it faces a fine of up to 500,000 yen (Art. 40).

The order: (1) keep your payslips and contract to hand; (2) tell the employer that the pay is below the minimum wage; (3) if nothing changes, go to the Labour Standards Inspection Office (rodo kijun kantokusho). If you want to talk in another language, ask the office whether it has a foreign workers’ consultation corner. The employment service centres for foreigners will also listen.

The decision: what to do today

Hourly part-timers: note your prefecture’s start date and new amount, then check the hourly rate on your first payslip after that date. If it has not moved, tell the manager. Most shops raise it automatically, but some forget.

Monthly-paid workers: do the three-step conversion once. Companies with low base pay padded out by allowances are the ones that trip here.

Next year and after: the minimum wage rises every autumn. Guideline at the end of July, prefectural answers in August-September, start around October. This article will be updated at the same time next year.

FAQ

Q. What is Japan’s minimum wage in 2026?

The national weighted average of the new amounts is 1,177 yen an hour. Tokyo 1,280 (from 1 October), Kanagawa 1,279, Osaka 1,231; the lowest is Miyazaki at 1,085 (from 24 October). It differs by prefecture, so check the table.

Q. When does the new minimum wage start?

Between 1 October and 2 December 2026, depending on the prefecture. 15 prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi, moved on 1 October. All 47 prefectures now have fixed dates. Until the day before, the previous amount applies.

Q. Does the minimum wage apply to foreigners?

Yes. The Act has no nationality limit; student part-timers, technical interns and Specified Skilled Workers all get the same amount as anyone else in the prefecture.

Q. How do I compare a monthly salary?

Take out commuting allowance, bonuses and overtime, then divide by your scheduled monthly hours. If that hourly figure is below your prefecture’s amount, it is a breach.

Q. I signed a contract below the minimum wage.

That part is void, and by law your rate is the minimum wage. You can claim the difference going back. If the employer refuses, go to the Labour Standards Inspection Office.

Q. What is the difference between “answered” and “decided”?

An answer is the council’s conclusion; it takes effect only when the Labour Bureau director decides and publishes it. The table matches the MHLW national list (updated 29 September 2026). By 5 October 2026, all 47 prefectures had decided their amounts and start dates. We will update if anything changes. On the same 1 October, the 88,000-yen social insurance pay test ended and residence permit fees went up; five questions tell you which of these changes affect you.

Summary

FY2026 minimum wage: average of the new amounts 1,177 yen, Tokyo 1,280, lowest Miyazaki 1,085. Start dates 1 October to 2 December, by prefecture. The same amount applies to foreign workers; nationality and language are not grounds for less.

Monthly-paid? Strip out allowances, convert to hourly, compare. Below it? The contract is void for that part and you can claim the difference. Go to the Labour Standards Inspection Office. And remember the one detail people get wrong: until the start date, the old amount applies.

Sources (official): MHLW press release, revised regional minimum wages answered in all prefectures (3 September 2026) / attachment: FY2026 regional minimum wage, status of answers / MHLW, national list of regional minimum wages / MHLW, FY2026 regional minimum wages, national list (PDF, updated 29 September 2026, checked 1 October) / Minimum Wage Act, Arts. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 40 (e-Gov) (all checked 17 September 2026) / Minimum Wage Act Enforcement Regulations, Arts. 1 and 2 (e-Gov) and Minimum Wage Act Art. 5 (e-Gov) (checked 9 October 2026) / Tokyo Labour Bureau, Tokyo minimum wage raised to 1,280 yen (Japanese) (checked 26 September 2026) / Kanagawa Labour Bureau, minimum wage notice (Japanese) / Aichi Labour Bureau, Aichi minimum wage raised to 1,195 yen (Japanese) / Osaka Labour Bureau, Osaka minimum wage 1,231 yen from 1 October 2026 (Japanese) / Hokkaido Labour Bureau, minimum wage (Japanese) / Mie Labour Bureau, Mie minimum wage revised (Japanese) / Kagawa Labour Bureau, Kagawa minimum wage raised to 1,092 yen (Japanese) (checked 27 September 2026)

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