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Other general clerical workers

How to become a Compliance Officer

Also called: Chief compliance officer, Compliance clerk

Sets up and runs a company's compliance system to prevent wrongdoing before it happens.

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

No particular education or qualification is required for this job, but almost everyone has a university or postgraduate degree. Very few people are assigned to compliance as new graduates and stay there as specialists; most transfer from other departments or are hired mid-career. For mid-career hires, experience in legal work is seen as an advantage. The expertise needed in compliance is very high. As well as knowledge of laws, you need to know the industry well, and because you deal with other departments, you need communication skills, the ability to gather and analyse information, cooperation, flexibility and calm. A certain amount of practical experience is also needed. Business is becoming global, so strong language skills, especially English, are expected.

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Compliance Officer?

No particular education or qualification is required for this job, but almost everyone has a university or postgraduate degree. Very few people are assigned to compliance as new graduates and stay there as specialists; most transfer from other departments or are hired mid-career. For mid-career hires, experience in legal work is seen as an advantage. The expertise needed in compliance is very high. As well as knowledge of laws, you need to know the industry well, and because you deal with other departments, you need communication skills, the ability to gather and analyse information, cooperation, flexibility and calm. A certain amount of practical experience is also needed. Business is becoming global, so strong language skills, especially English, are expected.

How much does a Compliance Officer earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,286,700 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other general clerical workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Compliance Officer?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 55% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Compliance Officer?

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