Peernovo
Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere

How to become an Administrative Scrivener

Prepares documents for government offices such as prefectural offices, city and town halls and police stations at the request of individuals and businesses, and submits them on their behalf.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

You must gain the administrative scrivener (gyosei shoshi) qualification and register with and join an administrative scriveners' association. You can gain the qualification by passing the administrative scrivener exam, or if you hold the qualification of lawyer, patent attorney, certified public accountant or certified tax accountant, or have a certain amount of administrative experience as a national or local public servant or as staff of certain independent administrative agencies. Many people work at an administrative scrivener's office to gain experience before setting up on their own. Many also hold other related qualifications, such as land and house investigator, judicial scrivener or labour and social security attorney, and work in those fields as well. You need to know the law well and to understand documents for government offices and documents on rights, duties and proof of facts. In practice, knowledge of commercial and corporate registration, the Construction Business Act, property law and the Agricultural Land Act is essential. Strong writing skills are also needed to produce accurate documents.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

Related jobs

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become an Administrative Scrivener?

You must gain the administrative scrivener (gyosei shoshi) qualification and register with and join an administrative scriveners' association. You can gain the qualification by passing the administrative scrivener exam, or if you hold the qualification of lawyer, patent attorney, certified public accountant or certified tax accountant, or have a certain amount of administrative experience as a national or local public servant or as staff of certain independent administrative agencies. Many people work at an administrative scrivener's office to gain experience before setting up on their own. Many also hold other related qualifications, such as land and house investigator, judicial scrivener or labour and social security attorney, and work in those fields as well. You need to know the law well and to understand documents for government offices and documents on rights, duties and proof of facts. In practice, knowledge of commercial and corporate registration, the Construction Business Act, property law and the Agricultural Land Act is essential. Strong writing skills are also needed to produce accurate documents.

How much does an Administrative Scrivener earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,833,100 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Administrative Scrivener?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 67% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of an Administrative Scrivener?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026