Living Costs in Japan for International Students: The Monthly Reality

Last updated: 25 August 2026

The figures on this page come from the Japan Student Services Organization’s FY2023 survey of privately financed international students, which collected 7,867 valid responses. Nepal, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are all among the larger groups in it, so these are numbers from people in the same situation as you rather than a general Japanese average.

How much does living in Japan cost per month?

170,000 yen a month across the country. 199,000 yen in Tokyo. The median is lower than the average at 150,000 yen, which tells you a smaller number of high spenders pull the average up.

Those totals include tuition. Take that out and the picture changes, so the breakdown matters more than the headline.

Two things stand out. Rent accounts for almost the whole Tokyo premium – 16,000 of the 29,000 yen difference. And whatever city you are in, only 13,000 yen is left over. Not 13,000 saved: 13,000 unaccounted for at the end of the month.

How much is tuition, separately?

Tuition sits inside that 52,000 yen study figure and varies enormously by institution.

A private university costs nearly twice a public one. If you are still choosing where to apply, that difference is 37,000 yen every month for the length of your course – larger than any economy you could make elsewhere. What a Japanese language school costs covers that end in detail.

Can you cover this working 28 hours a week?

Here is where the numbers stop being reassuring.

A student visa permits 28 hours of work a week. Tokyo’s minimum wage is 1,226 yen an hour, in force since 3 October 2025. A recommendation to raise it to 1,280 yen was issued on 5 August 2026, but the date it takes effect has not been set. Twenty-eight hours across four weeks is 112 hours.

112 hours at 1,226 yen is 137,312 yen a month. That is the ceiling, working every permitted hour, every week, without a single day off sick.

Against Tokyo’s 199,000 yen, that leaves 61,688 yen a month unaccounted for.

Strip out tuition entirely – say it is paid annually from savings – and Tokyo still runs at 143,000 yen. Even then the ceiling does not reach it.

This is not a failure of budgeting. The survey itself lists family support alongside part-time work as the main sources of student income, and only 65.2% of students work at all. The most common working week reported was 20 to 25 hours, not the full 28.

So if you have been wondering what you are doing wrong, the answer may be nothing. “Prices are high” was the most common difficulty in the entire survey, reported by 71.4% of respondents.

What can you actually change?

Look at the breakdown again and most rows barely move. Utilities are 7,000 yen. Insurance and medical costs are 3,000. Cutting those hard might find you a few thousand yen.

Rent is different. It is the largest controllable number on the list and the one with the widest range – 41,000 yen nationally against 57,000 in Tokyo, and share houses start well below either. Moving from a 80,000 yen flat to a 30,000 yen share house frees 50,000 yen a month, which is most of that 61,688 yen hole.

Put that in hourly terms. 50,000 yen over 112 hours is 446 yen an hour. To match it by finding better work, you would need to move from 1,226 yen to 1,672 yen. Nobody negotiates that. You can move house.

Two more fixed costs are worth checking because students routinely pay them without knowing there is an alternative.

• The National Pension is 17,920 yen a month, and students who cannot pay can have it deferred rather than falling into arrears – see the student deferral
• National Health Insurance has a reduction scheme for low incomes – how the premiums are set
• A major mobile carrier runs around 8,000 yen a month against roughly 1,000 for a budget SIM

One number the survey buries

Among the housing questions sits a figure worth knowing before you go flat hunting. 48.7% of students – 3,829 of them – were asked for a guarantor when arranging accommodation.

Nearly half. If it happens to you, it is not because of anything about you, and there are three routes through it.

All spending and income figures come from the Japan Student Services Organization’s FY2023 Survey of Privately Financed International Students, checked on 25 August 2026. Wage figures are from the Tokyo Labour Bureau. Source: JASSO, Survey of Privately Financed International Students

Before you cut a fixed cost, there is something faster to check: the National Health Insurance reduction. In Tokyo it takes 65,200 yen a year down to 19,560. No negotiating and no switching, just a declaration at the city office.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How much does it cost to live in Japan as an international student per month?

170,000 yen a month on average nationally, and 199,000 yen in Tokyo, including tuition. The median is 150,000 yen. Rent is the largest variable, at 41,000 yen nationally against 57,000 in Tokyo.

Q. Can I cover my living costs working 28 hours a week?

Not in Tokyo on minimum wage. 28 hours a week is 112 hours a month, which at 1,226 yen comes to 137,312 yen against average Tokyo spending of 199,000 yen. The survey lists family support alongside part-time work as the main income sources for exactly this reason.

Q. How much is rent for international students?

41,000 yen a month on average nationally and 57,000 yen in Tokyo. Share houses start considerably lower, and 70.1% of students live in private flats rather than dormitories.

Q. How much is tuition per month?

40,000 yen at a national university, 36,000 at a public one, 73,000 at a private one, 61,000 at a specialised training college and 56,000 at a Japanese language school.

Q. What is the biggest thing I can cut?

Rent, by a wide margin. Utilities are 7,000 yen a month and medical costs 3,000, so there is little to find there. Moving from an 80,000 yen flat to a 30,000 yen share house frees 50,000 yen, equivalent to a 446 yen hourly raise.

Q. Is it normal to find Japan expensive?

Yes. “Prices are high” was the most commonly reported difficulty in the survey, cited by 71.4% of the 7,867 students who responded.

In short

• 170,000 yen a month nationally, 199,000 in Tokyo, tuition included
• Rent is the Tokyo premium – 57,000 against 41,000 yen
• 28 hours a week caps you at 137,312 yen, leaving a 61,688 yen gap in Tokyo
• Only 13,000 yen is left over at the end of the month, wherever you live
• Rent is the one row that really moves – 50,000 yen saved equals a 446 yen raise
• 71.4% said prices are high. The difficulty is structural

Related reading

• The National Pension: 17,920 yen, and how to defer it
• Share houses: no deposit, no key money
• Renting without a guarantor
• Part-time work and the 28-hour rule