Accountant take-home pay in Japan after tax, 2026

How accounting pay is spread across Japan, 2026

Two qualifications dominate the profession here. The Konin Kaikeishi is the CPA licence needed to audit public companies, while the Zeirishi is the licensed tax accountant working in advisory. What each pays differs considerably.

Net pay by seniority in Japan, 2026

KKS or zeirishi: two different qualifications

Japan's accounting profession is split along two distinct tracks, which shapes the salary landscape considerably.

The Konin Kaikeishi (公認会計士) is the Japanese CPA, and nobody audits a listed company or public interest entity without it. Three stages stand in the way: basic accounting first, then the real barrier, a combined examination in financial accounting, audit theory, enterprise law and tax law, and finally a practical oral. Between 8% and 11% of candidates get through overall, and most spend two to five years preparing, usually at a specialist school such as Tac, CPA or Lec at a cost of ¥400,000 to ¥800,000 in fees.

The Zeirishi (税理士) is an entirely separate licence built on five subject examinations, and because those subjects can be passed one at a time across several years the path is more forgiving. Zeirishi work mainly with smaller businesses and individuals on compliance, planning and advisory. Around 80,000 of them practise in Japan against roughly 35,000 CPAs. Those in private practice frequently earn well beyond the employed averages, particularly anyone assembling a strong client roster of smaller businesses in a major city.

Where the Big Four money sits

Four firms handle nearly all of it: Deloitte Tohmatsu, PricewaterhouseCoopers Japan through PwC Aarata Audit and PwC Tax & Advisory, KPMG Azsa, and Ernst & Young ShinNihon. Between them they audit almost every Nikkei 225 constituent and most companies listed on TSE Prime.

Euro equivalents assume roughly ¥160 to the euro, where the currency has sat through 2024 to 2026. Big 4 salaries here look unimpressive in euro terms largely because of that structural weakness, and measured on purchasing power the gap with European counterparts is considerably narrower than the raw conversion implies.

What IFRS expertise is worth

A slow move toward IFRS has been gathering pace. By 2026 roughly 250 companies apply the standards voluntarily to their consolidated statements, Toyota, Sony, SoftBank and Recruit Holdings among them, and the number climbs each year with encouragement from the FSA.

CPAs who can demonstrate real IFRS expertise earn ¥1,000,000 to ¥2,000,000 above colleagues who cannot, and the premium reflects genuine scarcity. Accounting education here is still built around Japanese GAAP, so mastering the IFRS standards demands substantial additional training and usually some international experience.

Financial services pays its own premium for accountants who know the JFSA requirements and can handle Basel III and IV capital calculations. Nomura, Daiichi Life and the larger regional banks all run substantial internal finance functions and recruit CPAs at above-average rates.

The other route: zeirishi in private practice

A great many Zeirishi run their own practices, built around local businesses, restaurants, clinics, property companies and self-employed clients. Income varies enormously. Newly licensed and still finding clients, expect ¥3,000,000 to ¥4,000,000. Established, with 200 small business clients and a few staff, fees run ¥15,000,000 to ¥25,000,000.

Self-employment changes the tax arithmetic. A Zeirishi operating as a jigyonushi pays kosei nenkin at double the employed rate for their own share, and income tax is assessed on business profit rather than employment income. Because the deduction structure differs so markedly, most manage personal and business expenses carefully to hold the effective rate down.

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