Disclaimer: Since official English terms and translations are rarely fixed or agreed upon across sources and documents and some may even overlap in translation, it is best to learn and use the Japanese terms when referring to each topic and to keep the English terms in mind simply for your own reference.
Your attendance (which obviously affects your salary) can be calculated in any number of ways depending on your job situation. One obvious example of this is in how part-time workers usually work on an hourly basis for an hourly wage, while full-time employees typically work a full week for a fixed rate. Another is whether your working days or hours are set or if there are a number of days or hours you need to fulfill for your full salary. There is also whether you are asked to come in on a day off to put in some more work. Suffice it to say, a Japanese payslip is foreign enough (pun intended) even without the language barrier.
In this guide, we will take you through common Japanese terminology that will (hopefully) help you understand your payslip. Keep in mind that while you can rely on some of these terms to be constant (e.g. insurance), others will differ between companies (e.g. 遅刻早退 vs 遅早時間).
If you want to know more about paid leave and holidays, check out this guide.
If you want to know more about social insurance, check out this guide.
To help you navigate the list of words below, click on the number of the section you want to view. This guide had been broken down into ten sections corresponding with the labels on the sample payslip below.
- attendance 勤怠・勤怠他
- tax table 税額表
- salary 支給
- deductions 控除
- others その他
- net salary 差引支給額
- transferred salary 振込支給額・銀行振込額
- cash payment 現金支給額
- salary in kind 現物支給額
- total cumulative salary, etc. 課税支給累計
Just as with any country, every Japanese company will have their own system and preferences when it comes to payslip terms. If there are any terms on your payslip that are not included here, we highly encourage you to consult your company’s accounting department.
Download the pdf version of our How to Read Your Japanese Payslip guide here.
Common Terminology in a Japanese Payslip
The following terms are related to your attendance (e.g. numbers of days and hours you worked for the month).
| ① Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 勤怠・ 勤怠他 | kintai・ kintai ta | attendance |
| 契約出勤日数 | keiyaku shukkin nissū | number of contracted working days (e.g. if your contracted working days are from Mon–Fri, this will be the total number of days you worked from Mon–Fri that month) |
| 所定就労日数・ 所定就労時間 | shotei shurō nissū・ shotei shurō jikan | fixed number of working days/hours predetermined by the company (e.g. teacher goes to x school on ___day every week); salary is prorated (i.e. (salary / 所定就労日数) * 出勤日数) |
| 出勤日数 | shukkin nissū | number of working days |
| 出勤時間 | shukkin jikan | total work hours (usually for part-time work, does not include lunch hour) |
| 休出日数 | kyūshutsu nissū | number of day-off working days |
| 特休日数 | toku kyūjitsu sū | number of special leave days these are not legally required leaves but are instead agreed upon with the company (e.g. birthday leaves, sick leaves) |
| 欠勤日数 | kekkin nissū | number of days absent any day off that is not yūkyū or any absence in excess of yūkyū |
| 有休日数 | yūkyū | number of paid leave days (paid leave entitlement depends on your working conditions and length of employment with the company) |
| 有休残日数 | yūkyū zan nissū | number of remaining paid leave days |
| 普通残業時間 | futsū zangyō jikan | overtime (after your company’s normal hours to 10:00 pm; 25% premium; also over the 40 legal work hours) |
| 深夜残業時間 | shinya zangyō jikan | late-night overtime (from 10:00pm to 5:00am; 25% premium) |
| 休出残業時間 | kyūshutsu zangyō jikan | day off work overtime (holiday pay; when you work on a public holiday; out of normal hours) |
| 遅刻早退・ 遅早時間 | chikoku sōtai・ chisō jikan | tardiness and early time out |
| 追加契約分 | tsuika keiyakubun | additional contracted work |
The following terms are related to your income type and dependents.
| ② Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 税額表 | zeigakuhyō | tax table (i.e. how the National Tax Agency classifies your income) |
| 甲欄 | kō ran | this means that this company is your main source of income and does the year-end adjustment on your behalf |
| 扶養人数 | fuyō ninzū | number of dependents |
The following terms are related to your salary calculation.
| ③ Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 支給 | shikyū | salary |
| 基本給 | kihonkyū | basic salary |
| 職務給 | shokumukyū | performance-based pay |
| 追加手当 | tsuika teate | additional pay |
| 契約満了手当 | keiyaku manryō teate | contract completion bonus |
| 非課税通勤費 | hikazei tsūkin hi | non-taxable commute expenses |
| 課税通勤費 | kazei tsūkin hi | taxable commute expenses |
| 欠勤控除 | kekkin kōjo | deduction for absences |
| 前月修正 | zengetsu shūsei | correction from the previous month (e.g. over or underpayment from last month) |
| 課税支給合計 | kazei shikyū gōkei | total taxable salary |
| 非税支給合計 | hizei shikyū gōkei | total non-taxable salary |
| 支給合計・ 総支給金額 | shikyū gōkei・ sō shikyū kingaku | total gross salary |
| 労保対象合計 | rōho taishō gōkei | total amount covered by labor insurance (total salary) |
| 社保対象金銭 | shaho taishō kinsen | total amount covered by social insurance (total salary + commute) |
| 固定賃金合計 | kotei chingin gōkei | total fixed wage (total salary + commute) |
| 合計 | gōkei | total (gross salary) |
The following terms are related to deductions reflected on your payslip such as employee’s health insurance and pension insurance and residence tax that Japanese companies subtract from your monthly salary.
| ④ Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 控除 | kōjo | deductions |
| 健康保険料 | kenkō hokenryō | employees’ health insurance* |
| 介護保険料 | kaigo hokenryō | nursing insurance** (paid from 40 to 64 years old) for long-term care due to old age or certain illnesses (from 65 or earlier if you qualify) |
| 厚生年金保険 | kōsei nenkin hoken | employees’ pension insurance* |
| 厚生年金基金 | kōsei nenkin kikin | employee pension fund (additional pension contribution) |
| 雇用保険料 | koyō hoken | unemployment insurance (known as employment insurance) |
| 社保料その他 | shahoryō sono hoka | other insurance premiums (for social insurance backpay) |
| 社会保険料計 | shakai hokenryō kei | total social insurance premiums |
| 所得税 | shotoku zei | income tax / withholding tax |
| 住民税 | jūminzei | resident tax |
| 控除合計・ 控除合計額 | kōjo gōkei・ kōjo gōkeigaku | total deduction |
| 社保控除後計 | shaho kōjogo kei | total salary after insurance |
| その他 | sono hoka | others |
| 貸付金返済 | kashitsukekin hensai | loan repayment (i.e. loan from the company for personal expenses; with interest) |
| 仮払金 | karibaraikin | temporary advance (i.e. cash advance for work-related expenses; e.g. shinkansen fare) |
| 立替金その他 | tatekaekin sono hoka | other advance payment |
| 合計 | total | total (deductions) |
*see our social insurance guide for more information on employees’ health insurance and pension insurance.
**age-related illnesses that qualify for nursing insurance
- Terminal cancer
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Atrophic lateral sclerosis
- Posterior longitudinal ligament ossification
- Osteoporosis with fracture
- Dementia in old age
- Progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration and Parkinson’s disease
- Spinocerebellar degeneration
- Spinal canal stenosis
- Progeria
- Multiple system atrophy
- Diabetic neurosis, diabetic nephropathy, and diabetic omentum
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Arteriosclerosis obliterans
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Osteoarthritis (with significant deformation of both knees or hips)
The following terms are related to other amounts added to or subtracted from your salary.
| ⑤ Japanese (Kaji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| その他 | sono hoka | others |
| 年末調整還付 | nenmatsu chōsei kanpu | year-end adjustment refund (i.e. your total withholding tax payment was above your actual income tax amount) |
| 年末調整徴収 | nenmatsu chōsei chōshū | year-end adjustment levy (i.e. your total withholding tax payment was below your actual income tax amount) |
| その他合計 | sono hoka gōkei | total (others) |
| 合計 | total | total (others) |
The following terms are related to your net salary.
| ⑥ Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 差引支給額 | sashihiki shikyūgaku | net salary (i.e. salary – social insurance, etc.) |
The following terms are related to payments made through bank transfer.
| ⑦ Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 振込支給額・ 銀行振込額 | furikomi shikyūgaku・ ginkō furikomigaku | transferred salary・transferred amount |
| 合計 | total | total (transferred salary) |
The following terms are related to payments made in cash.
| ⑧ Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 現金支給額 | genkin shikyūgaku | cash payment (i.e. any part of your salary paid in cash) |
The following terms are related to payments made in kind.
| ⑨ Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 現物支給額 | genbutsu shikyūgaku | salary in kind (salary = cost of the object; e.g. if the company buys your commuter pass for you) |
The following terms are related to cumulative calculations concerning your salary.
| ⑩Japanese (Kanji) | Pronunciation (Romaji) | English |
| 課税支給累計 | kazei shikyū ruikei | your total cumulative salary (yearly; from Jan to Dec) |
| 所得税累計 | shotokuzei ruikei | your total cumulative income tax (yearly; from Jan to Dec) |
| 社会保険累計 | shakai hoken ruikei | your total cumulative social insurance (yearly; from Jan to Dec) |
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Featured image by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash
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Thank you for the information