What it costs and what the law requires to employ someone in Japan through an EOR, with every figure cited to a primary source.
To employ someone in Japan, an employer pays ~15.5-16.5% (employer half of social insurance: welfare pension 9.15%, health ~4.7-5.4% by prefecture (Tokyo 4.925%), employment insurance 0.85% from April 2026, long-term care 0.81% for ages 40-64, plus work-injury 0.25-8.8% by industry)↗ in mandatory contributions on top of gross salary, must give 10 days (after 6 months of continuous service)↗ of paid annual leave, and 30 days↗ of notice to terminate. An EOR lets you hire here without your own legal entity.
Every figure links to the page that states it. This page's figures were read at their sources between Aug 18, 2026 and Oct 30, 2026, and every cited page is checked again each week (how we verify).
Ranked the way Get matched ranks a hire: employing through its own entity in Japan, a lower published fee and no deposit, each read from the provider's own pages. A provider whose referral program pays us carries a labeled referral boost, and the few providers we do not work with are listed below, never among these three.
Its own pages also state: equity for employees, laptops and equipment.
Its own pages also state: equity for employees, laptops and equipment.
Set team size or visa need, and get quotesStill looking for the person? Ask for candidates tooHow referral programs affect ranking
Companies hiring remotely for a role that must be based in Japan need someone employed there. Without an entity of their own in Japan, an employer of record is how they do it.
Japan ranks #26 of 177 countries↗ for full-time remote jobs open only to its residents. Most hired fields: Sales, Developer, Customer Service.
Counted daily from job postings on Himalayas, a remote job board: a job counts for a country when it accepts applicants based only there. Counting began Oct 29, 2026; a job posted before then counts if it was still open that day. Last updated Nov 11, 2026.
The statutory employer contributions that sit on top of gross salary, each cited.
Rates are the statutory employer contributions; the total employer burden in Japan is ~15.5-16.5% (employer half of social insurance: welfare pension 9.15%, health ~4.7-5.4% by prefecture (Tokyo 4.925%), employment insurance 0.85% from April 2026, long-term care 0.81% for ages 40-64, plus work-injury 0.25-8.8% by industry)↗. Confirm the current rates for your case before hiring. Compare employer costs in every country. Compare employer pension contributions in every country.
The full cost to employ combines gross salary, the statutory employer burden, and the EOR provider's own service fee.
The total cost to employ someone in Japan through an EOR is their gross salary, plus ~15.5-16.5% (employer half of social insurance: welfare pension 9.15%, health ~4.7-5.4% by prefecture (Tokyo 4.925%), employment insurance 0.85% from April 2026, long-term care 0.81% for ages 40-64, plus work-injury 0.25-8.8% by industry)↗ in mandatory employer contributions, plus a per-employee service fee from the provider. Across the 56 of 93 providers that publish a fee, the median is $349/employee/month (from $99 to $740); the rest quote per country.
This illustration applies the representative rate to the full salary. It does not apply contribution caps, local-currency thresholds or employee eligibility rules, so it is not a payroll quote. Actual cost depends on the salary, the provider, and country-specific quotes; some countries also add mandatory items such as 13th-month pay or severance accruals. Run your own numbers in the calculator.
Each provider below names Japan on its own website as a country where it offers Employer of Record. Cheapest published starting fee first.
38 providers name Japan on their own websites as a country where they offer EOR. Published starting fees among them run from $99 /mo↗ (Native Teams) to $699 /mo↗ (Oyster HR and Safeguard Global); 11 quote Japan on request. 5 of them say they employ here through their own entity.
Is an employer of record allowed in Japan? As licensed worker dispatching, with time limits on how long a client may use dispatched workers at a place of business and in the same unit. The rules, with their sources, and every country that limits the model.
Setting up your own company in Japan instead? The usual form is a KK (joint-stock company). Minimum share capital: JPY 1 (JPY 30 million for the Business Manager visa)↗. Government fee to register: Registration tax of 0.7% of capital, at least JPY 150,000↗. EOR or your own entity: everything it takes, each from its official source.
Not sure which one fits? We rank these providers for your team size and visa needs, and get you quotes from the ones you pick.
Get matchedBefore you sign with one of them: the questions worth asking each provider. Already employing someone in Japan through an employer of record? Check what you pay against these fees.
A listing is the provider's own statement that it can employ in Japan, read on its site on Nov 9, 2026. Fees are each provider's cheapest published rate, not a quote for Japan. We read the country lists and country pages of all 93 providers we track; 78 name the countries they serve, and a provider that does not name Japan on its own site is not shown here, even where it may serve it. Confirm availability for your role and contract type before signing.
The employment terms an employer must meet, each linked to the source that states it.
Paying someone in Japan as a contractor instead? The law looks at how the work runs, not at what the contract calls it. Check whether the role is employment.
Two ways to put someone on payroll here.
An EOR already has an entity in Japan and employs your worker on your behalf, handling payroll, tax and the statutory terms above. Fastest way to hire without incorporating.
Compare EOR providersAdd the ~15.5-16.5% (employer half of social insurance: welfare pension 9.15%, health ~4.7-5.4% by prefecture (Tokyo 4.925%), employment insurance 0.85% from April 2026, long-term care 0.81% for ages 40-64, plus work-injury 0.25-8.8% by industry)↗ employer burden to salary and an EOR service fee to see your true monthly cost to employ in Japan.
Open the cost calculatorOn top of gross salary, mandatory employer contributions in Japan run ~15.5-16.5% (employer half of social insurance: welfare pension 9.15%, health ~4.7-5.4% by prefecture (Tokyo 4.925%), employment insurance 0.85% from April 2026, long-term care 0.81% for ages 40-64, plus work-injury 0.25-8.8% by industry)↗, made up of welfare pension (kosei nenkin) 9.15%↗; health insurance 4.925% (Tokyo employer half, FY2026)↗; employment insurance 0.85% (employer share, general businesses, from 1 April 2026)↗; Workers' accident compensation 0.25%-8.8% by industry (employer only)↗; child allowance contribution 0.36%↗. An employer of record adds its own per-employee service fee on top; across the 56 of 93 providers that publish a fee, the median is $349 per employee per month.
EOR service fees are billed per employee per month, on top of salary and statutory employer contributions in Japan. The contribution basis is ~15.5-16.5% (employer half of social insurance: welfare pension 9.15%, health ~4.7-5.4% by prefecture (Tokyo 4.925%), employment insurance 0.85% from April 2026, long-term care 0.81% for ages 40-64, plus work-injury 0.25-8.8% by industry)↗. Providers rarely publish a Japan-specific fee: across the 56 providers on our price board that publish a price, the median is $349 per employee per month (from $99 to $740), and the rest quote per country. Request a quote for Japan for an exact figure.
Statutory paid annual leave in Japan is 10 days (after 6 months of continuous service)↗.
The minimum employer notice period in Japan is 30 days↗.
The statutory minimum wage in Japan is ¥1,177/hour (national weighted average, FY2026; prefectural rates range ¥1,085-¥1,280)↗.
The maximum statutory probation period in Japan is 3-6 months (typical)↗.
38 of the 93 providers we track name Japan on their own websites as a country where they offer Employer of Record. By published starting fee: Native Teams from $99 /mo↗, Asanify from $199 /mo↗, Boundless from $199 /mo↗, Gloroots from $199 /mo↗, RemoFirst from $199 /mo↗, and 22 more with a published fee; 11 quote Japan on request. Each provider's listing is its own claim, so confirm availability for your role and contract type before signing.
In the 30↗ days to Nov 11, 2026, 122 companies↗ posted 249↗ full-time remote jobs open only to people based in Japan on the Himalayas job board, plus 120↗ contract roles, which ranks Japan #26 of 177 countries↗. The most hired fields are Sales, Developer, Customer Service. A company hiring this way without its own entity in Japan employs through an employer of record.
No. An employer of record (EOR) already holds a legal entity in Japan and can employ your worker there on your behalf, running local payroll, tax and compliance, so you can hire without setting up your own entity. That settles the employment side only: what the person does for your company (signing or negotiating its contracts, running a sales team, working from one place for most of the year) can still make your company taxable in Japan as a permanent establishment, whoever employs them.
Hiring in more than one country? See which providers cover Asia-Pacific.
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