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Aquent's 2026 Japan Salary Guide

Aquent LLC, a global talent agency headquartered in Boston, has released its 2026 Salary Guide for Japan, focusing on creative, marketing, and digital professions. This guide, based on salary data from the previous year, highlights how the advent of AI is reshaping Japan's employment landscape.

According to Aquent's Japan Representative, Takahiro Sugimoto, the hiring market is shifting from a traditional job-based model to a skill-based recruitment approach. In fields that thrive through collaboration with AI, such as creative and marketing sectors, salary ranges show significant increases, making remuneration a critical aspect for retaining rare talents. Organizations must adopt strategic compensation designs that align individual expertise with market value, converting it into a competitive advantage.

Key Findings from the Salary Guide

1. Robust Market Growth: The salary growth rate in the creative, marketing, and digital sectors stands at an impressive national average of 5.6% compared to the previous year.

2. Accelerating Digital Transformation: Roles essential for executing digital strategies are leading the salary hikes, revealing a widening gap influenced by automated tools.

3. Equity in Wages: Despite some promising signs, the gender wage gap remains stark in certain roles, exceeding 25% in notable professions.

4. Surging AI-Related Positions: Among emerging roles, natural language processing engineers have the highest median salary at ¥12,465,372, signifying the growing demand for AI skills.

Notable High-Growth Positions

Roles crucial for digital outcomes are outpacing average salary increases across all professions:

• - Frontend Developer: ¥8,136,798 (7.8% increase)
• - UX Lead: ¥8,815,143 (7.1% increase)
• - Product Design Manager: ¥11,815,371 (7.6% increase)
• - Data Analyst: ¥8,783,318 (8.1% increase)
• - Data Scientist: ¥10,593,829 (9.1% increase)

These are median salary figures for Tokyo.

Emergence of AI-Related Roles

New and specialized positions focusing on AI strategy and implementation are becoming increasingly prevalent. The guide also details extensive salary figures for various AI-related roles, including:

• - AI Architect: ¥12,174,270
• - Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer: ¥12,465,372
• - Technical Artist: ¥7,267,886

This year's guide recommends multiple strategies for companies to adapt to the rapidly changing hiring landscape within creative, marketing, and digital sectors. By promoting a more accurate salary model aligned with current industry demands, firms can review and enhance the transparency and equity of their compensation structures.

About Aquent Japan

Aquent is a leading global work solutions company that provides a range of services essential for maintaining an organization’s competitive edge, including talent acquisition, technology, and project management. Since entering the Japanese market in 1997, Aquent has established offices in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka, striving to create a better future of work for all individuals involved.