If you work in Japan, then a payslip or kyuryou meisai is no stranger to you. You receive it either as a physical sheet of paper or a digital file. Upon opening it, you’ll see the breakdown of your salary, from special allowances or bonuses to how many more days of vacation you have. It can be overwhelming at first as it’s full of kanji (Chinese characters with Japanese meaning), but most of these payslips follow a relatively similar template. While they might differ slightly depending on the company, we’ve compiled this short guide on how to read a Japanese payslip.
Japanese Payslips
Payslips are normally distributed close to payday. It lists your work attendance, how much you earn and how much is deducted. When you receive it, always check the amount listed just in case of any errors. It’s recommended to hold onto your payslips for at least two years just in case because you can use them as proof of income tax payments. In the case of applying for unemployment benefits, these can help support your case. For more information about employment in Japan, read more on our Japan101 page.
Vocabulary for Japanese Payslips
To understand how much you’re actually earning (and what’s being taken away), you’ll need to familiarize yourself with some kanji. Keep in mind that Japanese payslips and their formats vary but usually have three major categories: attendance, earnings and deductions. Here’s what one of the many payslips in Japan looks like, broken down into parts.
1. Work Attendance
This section of the payslip covers the time you spent working. It includes an itemized account of your days worked, the number of vacation days left and any tardiness throughout the month.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Days/Hours |
| 勤怠 | Work Attendance | Kintai | |
| 所定就労日 | Fixed Work Day | Shotei shuu robi | 21.00 |
| 出勤日数 | Days Worked | Shukkin hisuu | 20.00 |
| 休日出勤日数 | Day off day | Kyuujitsu shukkin bisuu | 0.00 |
| 欠勤日数 | Leave day taken | Kekkin bisuu | 0.00 |
| 所定労働時間 | Fixed working hours | Shotei roudou jikan | 168:00 |
| 実働時間 | Actual worked hours | Jitsu dou jikan | 174:46 |
| 遅刻早退回数 | Lateness or early leave time | Chikoku soutai kaisuu | 0:00 |
| 遅刻早退時間 | Lateness or early issued
hours |
Chikoku soutai jikan | 0:24 |
| 普通残業時間 | Regular overtime hours | Futsuu zangyou jikan | 20:05 |
| 深夜残業時間 | Midnight shift overtime hours | Shinya zangyou jikan | 2:10 |
| 休日勤務時間 | Holiday overtime hours | Kyuujitsu kinmu jikan | 0:00 |
| 有休日数 | Paid leave used | Yuukyuu bisuu | 2.00 |
| 有休残日数 | Paid leave balance | Yuukyuu zan nisuu | 26.00 |
2. Payer and Dependents
This part of the payslip details your dependents and who your main source of income is.
| Japanese | English | Romaji |
| 税額表 | Payer (if your company) | Zeigaku hyou |
| 甲欄 | Main source of income | Kou ran |
| 扶養人数 | Number of dependents | Fuyou nin zuu |
3. Earnings
See how much money you’ve made before taxes in this column of the payslip. From base salary to special allowances by your company, it should all be listed here.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 支給 | Earnings | Shi kyuu | |
| 基本給 | Base salary | Kihon kyuu | 320,000 |
| 役付手当 | Position allowance | Yakutsuki te ate | 10,000 |
| 家族手当 | Family allowance | Kazoku te ate | 10,000 |
| 皆勤手当 | Perfect attendance allowance | Kaikin te ate | 5,000 |
| 普通残業手当 | Regular overwork allowance | Futsuu zangyou te ate | 49,907 |
| 深夜残業手当 | Midnight shift overwork allowance | Shinya zangyou te ate | 5,815 |
| 休日勤務手当 | Holiday overwork allowance | Kyuuji tsukinmu te ate | 0 |
| 非課税通勤費 | Non-taxable commuting allowance | Hikazei tsuukin hi | 4,500 |
| 遅刻早退控除 | Lateness or early leave penalty/deduction | Chikoku soutai koujo | 771 |
| 合計 | Sum | Goukei | 404,451 |
4. Salary Deductions
Going through this part of your payslip will show you how much you’re paying for pension, taxes and different types of insurance.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 控除 | Deductions | Koujo | |
| 健康保険料 | Health insurance fee | Kenkou hoken ryou | 16,810 |
| 介護保険料 | Nursing Care insurance | Kaigo hoken ryou | 2,562 |
| 厚生年金保険料 | Welfare Pension insurance | Kouse nenkin hoken ryou | 29,290 |
| 雇用保険料ほ | Unemployment insurance | Koyou hoken ryou | 3,235 |
| 所得税 | Income tax | Shoto ku zei | 12,490 |
| 住民税 | Inhabitant tax | Jumin zei | 7,500 |
| 財形貯蓄 | Employee’s savings | Zaikei chochiku | 20,000 |
| 合計 | Sum | Goukei | 93,887 |
5. Other
This column documents fractional amounts when your salary is calculated as salaries in Japan are rounded up to whole numbers.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| その他 | Other | Sono hoka | |
| 前回端数預り | Previous salary deduction from rounding up sum | Zenkai hasuu azukari | 614 |
| 今回端数預り | This salary deduction from rounding up sum | Konkai hasuu azukari | 178 |
| 合計 | Sum | Goukei | 436 |
6. Net Payments
Salary with all the tax deductions and other fees subtracted from it.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 差引支給額 | Net payments | Sashihiki shikyuu gaku | 311,000 |
7. Amount Transferred
The total amount you will receive this month by bank transfer.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 振込支給 | Amount transferred | Furikomi shikyuu | 311,000 |
| 合計 | Sum | Goukei | 311,000 |
8. Cash Payment
A part of your salary is handed directly to you in cash.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 現金支給額 | Actual cash payments | Genkin shikyuu gaku | 0 |
9. Goods or Non-Cash Payments
The value of any goods or non-cash payments you received this month.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 現物支給額 | Goods or non-cash payments value | Genbutsu shikyuu hitai | 0 |
10. Total Deducted Taxes
Your total amount of deductions so far.
| Japanese | English | Romaji | Amount |
| 課税支給累計 | Total taxable income (yearly) | Kazei shikyuu ruikei | 744,951 |
| 社会保険累計 | Total accumulated social insurance | Shakai hoken ruikei | 102,343 |
| 所得税累計 | Total accumulated income tax | Shotoku zei ruikei | 20,180 |
We hope this short guide on how to read a Japanese payslip was helpful to you. Let us know what you think in the comments!
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service