Project Management Careers in Japan: What 293 Job Postings Ask For

Every figure on this page summarizes job postings tracked on AirTA. It describes what employers asked for in their postings, in aggregate, and is shown the same way to every reader. It is not a description of any individual’s career or prospects.

293
166
62%
43%

What Gets You In

  • 1-2 years of experience

    32

  • 3-4 years of experience

    60

  • 5-9 years of experience

    64

  • 10+ years of experience

    26

34%

32% day-to-day or above

  • PMP 18%

  • Project Management

    75%

  • Stakeholder Management

    37%

  • Data Analysis

    14%

  • Excel

    11%

  • PowerPoint

    6%

293 postings

Levels by Experience

1–2 years

44%

9% day-to-day or above

32 postings

3–4 years

32%

31% day-to-day or above

  • PMP 22%

  • Project Management 80% (+27)

60 postings

5–9 years

36%

43% day-to-day or above

  • PMP 28%

  • Stakeholder Management 50% (+18)

64 postings

10+ years

50%

63% day-to-day or above

  • PMP 38%

26 postings

Stated Pay

All postings

Median ¥8,000,000 · 127 postings state pay

¥6,800,000

25th to 75th percentile of stated salaries

¥10,000,000

3–4 years

Median ¥8,600,000 · 30 postings state pay

¥6,300,000

25th to 75th percentile of stated salaries

¥10,400,000

Working Conditions

123 days

45 postings

13 h

31 postings

30%
19%
  • Fully remote

    12

  • Hybrid

    65

  • On-site

    10

293 postings

What Comes Next

  • People management

    19

  • Project management

    14

  • Senior leadership

    11

  • Specialist track

    11

Employers naming each step, of 30 that name one

Levels by Job Title

Specialist track

  • Entry / new graduate

    5

  • Senior

    16

  • Principal

    3

Management track

  • Team lead

    40

  • Manager

    14

  • Director

    4

Individual-contributor level

24 postings from 16 employers

Every figure below summarizes job postings tracked on AirTA at this level. It describes what employers asked for in their postings, not any individual.

These figures summarize other postings tracked on AirTA, not this role.

Project Management · individual-contributor level

25%

English · 20 postings

  • Daily English

    25%

  • Some English

    20%

  • No English stated

    55%

90%

Japanese · 21 postings

  • Native/Fluent (Native or JLPT N1)

    81%

  • Professional Working Proficiency (JLPT N2)

    10%

  • No level stated

    10%

5 years median (middle half 3 to 6.5)

over 14 postings stating a threshold

21% of postings (5)

  • PMP (38%)

Team-lead level

40 postings from 26 employers

Every figure below summarizes job postings tracked on AirTA at this level. It describes what employers asked for in their postings, not any individual.

These figures summarize other postings tracked on AirTA, not this role.

Project Management · team-lead level

Stated salary

median ¥7,000,000 · 13 postings

Too few stated salaries to publish a range

15%

English · 40 postings

  • Daily English

    15%

  • Some English

    13%

  • No English stated

    73%

90%

Japanese · 40 postings

  • Native/Fluent (Native or JLPT N1)

    83%

  • Professional Working Proficiency (JLPT N2)

    5%

  • Limited Working Proficiency (JLPT N3)

    3%

  • No level stated

    10%

3 years median (middle half 3 to 5)

over 27 postings stating a threshold

50% of postings (20)

  • PMP (23%)

4 openings are titled as a candidate for this level

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Project Management career ladder?

A level-by-level summary of what live Project Management job postings tracked on AirTA ask for. Levels come from job titles (manager, director, senior and so on) and, separately, from the years of experience a posting states. Every figure is a statistic over those postings, refreshed daily.

Where do the numbers come from?

From the job postings AirTA collects from employer career sites and applicant tracking systems. Years of experience, certifications and management experience are read from the posting text; the level is read from the title; pay is the salary the employer stated on the posting. Nothing is estimated for an individual.

Why is there no pay figure at some levels?

A pay band publishes only when at least 30 postings at that level state a salary, and a median only from 10. Senior-level pay is rarely published in Japan, so the honest answer at some levels is no figure rather than a figure borrowed from another level.

What does "candidate for" mean?

Some postings are titled 「マネージャー候補」 or "Manager Candidate": the employer states in the title that the opening is for someone who will grow into that level. The ladder counts those titles as the employer wrote them. It does not predict anyone’s promotion.

Role information is sourced from companies' public careers pages. Listed companies are not affiliated with AirTA. Is this your company? Claim your listing or request removal.

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