A Japanese payslip (給与明細, kyūyo meisai) packs your whole month into a dense grid of kanji. Below is a realistic sample — a fictional company and employee — annotated with numbered markers. Tap any number to jump to its explanation, with the Japanese, its reading, and what it means in practice.
| 出勤日数 | 20 | 欠勤 | 0 | 有給取得 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 有給残 | 12 | 労働時間 | 160:00 | 残業時間 | 15:00 |
| 基本給 | 250,000 |
|---|---|
| 役職手当 | 20,000 |
| 時間外手当 | 31,250 |
| 通勤手当 | 12,000 |
| 支給合計 | 313,250 |
| 健康保険 | 15,000 |
|---|---|
| 介護保険 | 2,700 |
| 厚生年金 | 27,450 |
| 雇用保険 | 1,880 |
| 所得税 | 6,750 |
| 住民税 | 14,000 |
| 控除合計 | 67,780 |
支給合計 313,250 − 控除合計 67,780 = 245,470 (差引支給額)
The attendance block records how much you worked this month. These figures feed the pay below — most importantly the overtime hours.
The section that logs days worked (出勤日数), days absent (欠勤), paid leave taken (有給), and — the number that changes your pay — overtime hours (残業時間 / 時間外). Times are often written like 15:00, meaning 15 hours 0 minutes, not 3 p.m.
支給 (shikyū) means "what is paid to you" — everything added before deductions. The heading you see may be 支給, 支給額, or 総支給 (gross pay). This is NOT the amount that reaches your bank.
Your fixed monthly salary before any allowances or overtime. Bonuses, raises, pension and severance are often calculated from this figure, so it matters more than the total.
Pay for hours worked beyond your scheduled time. It is calculated from your overtime hours (残業時間) at a premium rate set by law. You may also see 深夜手当 (late-night) and 休日手当 (holiday work) as separate lines.
Reimbursement for your commute (train pass, etc.). Up to a monthly limit it is non-taxable, so it is added to your pay but usually excluded when income tax is calculated. That is why it can appear in earnings yet not raise your tax.
The sum of every earnings line. This is your "gross pay" — the big number in a job offer. What you actually receive is this minus the deductions below.
控除 (kōjo) means "what is taken out". It has two parts: social insurance (health, pension, employment, and — from age 40 — nursing care) and taxes (income tax and resident tax). Most of these are mandatory.
Public medical insurance. It is why you pay only a fraction of medical bills at the clinic. The premium is shared between you and your employer; only your half appears here.
Insurance for long-term elderly care. It is deducted only from employees aged 40 and over, so it appears on the payslip starting the month you turn 40 — a common surprise. Under 40, this line is blank or absent.
The public pension for company employees. Like health insurance, the cost is split with your employer and only your share is shown. It counts toward your future pension — and payments can matter even if you later leave Japan.
Unemployment insurance. It funds benefits if you lose your job, plus some training and leave benefits. The employee share is small compared with health insurance and pension.
National tax on your income, withheld from each paycheck. The monthly amount is an estimate; at year-end your employer does 年末調整 (year-end adjustment) to settle the exact figure, which can mean a small refund or extra charge in December.
Local tax paid to the city and prefecture where you lived on January 1. It is based on LAST year’s income and collected the FOLLOWING June through May. This timing is why it is often 0 in your first year and suddenly appears in your second June (see the note below).
The sum of all social insurance and taxes taken out. Total earnings minus this figure equals your take-home pay.
The one number that actually matters for your bank account.
Total earnings minus total deductions — the amount actually transferred to your bank. Also labelled 差引支給額 or 銀行振込額. When people ask "how much do you take home?", this is the number.
Resident tax (住民税) is charged on the previous year’s income and collected the following June through May. Your first year in Japan usually has little or no prior-year income here, so the line reads 0. Then, from the June after your first full year, the tax on that income is spread across twelve paychecks — and your take-home pay drops even though your salary is unchanged. Many people are caught out by this, so set money aside before your second June.
Commuting allowance (通勤手当) is added to your pay but, up to a monthly limit, is non-taxable. So it can raise the total you receive without raising your income tax. That is why the taxable base used for income tax may be lower than your 支給合計.
Nursing-care insurance (介護保険) is only collected from employees aged 40 and over. If a new deduction appears out of nowhere around a birthday, this is almost always it — not a mistake.
The income tax (所得税) withheld each month is provisional. At year-end your employer runs a 年末調整 (year-end adjustment) to reconcile it with your real annual tax, which often produces a small refund — or occasionally an extra charge — on your December or January payslip.
A job offer states gross pay (総支給 / total earnings). Your payslip then subtracts social insurance (health insurance, pension, employment insurance, and nursing-care insurance from age 40) and taxes (income tax and resident tax). Together these commonly reduce gross pay by roughly a fifth to a quarter, though the exact share depends on your salary, age and situation. The remaining figure — 差引支給額 (take-home pay) — is what reaches your bank.
Resident tax (住民税) is charged on the previous year’s income and collected the following June to May. In your first year you had little or no prior-year Japanese income, so the line is often 0. From the June after your first full year, the tax on that income kicks in, and your take-home pay drops even though your salary did not change. It is not an error — budget for it in advance.
総支給 (sō-shikyū) is gross pay — the total of all earnings before anything is removed. 差引支給額 (sashihiki shikyū-gaku) is net, or take-home, pay — gross minus every deduction. The gap between them is your combined social insurance and tax.
For a regular company employee, social insurance (health, pension, employment, and nursing-care insurance) and taxes (income and resident tax) are mandatory and handled by your employer — you cannot opt out. Because the deductions and their timing rarely change month to month, learning your payslip once lets you predict every future one.
This guide explains how to read a payslip and the mechanics behind each line. It is general information, not tax or legal advice, and specific rates and rules change over time — for your own figures, check with your employer’s HR, a tax accountant, or your local tax office.