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Automobile maintenance and repair workers

How to become an Automotive Mechanic

Also called: Car Engine Mechanic, Car Repairer, Auto Electrician, Motor Mechanic

Inspects and services cars using specialist knowledge and skills, to keep them safe to drive and to protect the environment by limiting harmful exhaust and noise.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say vocational college (senmon gakko) or high school 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

Most mechanics work at repair workshops, and holding the national automotive mechanic qualification gives you an advantage in getting a job at one. You can still get a job without it, though, and after joining a workshop you can attend a training institution (an automotive maintenance training centre) for six months to a year and a half in the evenings or on days off while working, and gain the qualification. It helps to have studied at the automotive maintenance course of an industrial high school or a senmon gakko (vocational college) for mechanics, and also to have learned basic mechanical or electrical knowledge at high school or university. A driving licence and qualifications such as hazardous materials officer (Class B, Type 4), gas welder or arc welder (basic level) also often help. The same applies to mid-career hires. To gain the automotive mechanic qualification, you can attend a training institution such as a mechanics' vocational college, or, as above, attend a training centre while working at a workshop. People who complete these courses are exempt from the practical test and only sit the written exam. Cars keep evolving, and in recent years much more electronic technology, such as cameras and sensors, has been added, making their structure and systems more complex and precise. Mechanics now need the knowledge to use scan tools (equipment for finding the cause of electronic faults) and the technical skills to handle new technology. Environmental, noise and other rules are also tightened each year, so you must keep learning new servicing and inspection methods to keep up with changing rules.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Automotive Mechanic?

Most mechanics work at repair workshops, and holding the national automotive mechanic qualification gives you an advantage in getting a job at one. You can still get a job without it, though, and after joining a workshop you can attend a training institution (an automotive maintenance training centre) for six months to a year and a half in the evenings or on days off while working, and gain the qualification. It helps to have studied at the automotive maintenance course of an industrial high school or a senmon gakko (vocational college) for mechanics, and also to have learned basic mechanical or electrical knowledge at high school or university. A driving licence and qualifications such as hazardous materials officer (Class B, Type 4), gas welder or arc welder (basic level) also often help. The same applies to mid-career hires. To gain the automotive mechanic qualification, you can attend a training institution such as a mechanics' vocational college, or, as above, attend a training centre while working at a workshop. People who complete these courses are exempt from the practical test and only sit the written exam. Cars keep evolving, and in recent years much more electronic technology, such as cameras and sensors, has been added, making their structure and systems more complex and precise. Mechanics now need the knowledge to use scan tools (equipment for finding the cause of electronic faults) and the technical skills to handle new technology. Environmental, noise and other rules are also tightened each year, so you must keep learning new servicing and inspection methods to keep up with changing rules.

How much does an Automotive Mechanic earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,038,000 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Automobile maintenance and repair workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Automotive Mechanic?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 7% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Automotive maintenance.

Will AI change the work of an Automotive Mechanic?

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