How to become a Firefighter

Also called: Paramedic (Fire Service), Ambulance Officer, Fire Service Officer, Fire Crew Member, Rescue Team Member

Rushes to fires, traffic accidents, earthquakes, floods and other emergencies to put out fires and rescue people.

Main tasks

• Rushing to the scene in a fire engine when an emergency is reported
• Assessing the fire, running out hoses and spraying water to put it out
• Going into buildings, spraying water from inside and checking that no one has been left behind
• Using ladder trucks or going into buildings to rescue people who are trapped
• Rescuing injured and sick people, giving first aid and taking them to hospital
• Examining the scene after a fire to find its cause
• Training in firefighting and rescue
• Maintaining and checking firefighting machinery and equipment
• Inspecting workplaces, department stores, hotels and other buildings for emergency exits and firefighting equipment, and ordering improvements
• Running courses and drills on fire prevention, disaster preparedness and firefighting to raise local awareness
• Patrolling the area to prevent fires
• Running basic life support courses, such as rescue breathing, for local residents
• Working with local volunteer fire corps members
• Liaising and coordinating with the national government and neighbouring councils
• Receiving and checking notifications and applications
• Writing work manuals
• Attending courses and study sessions to gain knowledge and skills
• Planning and drafting fire service policies
• Teaching and training crew members
• Supporting crew members' mental wellbeing

Workers in this job say university 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

Fire services are run by cities, towns and villages, so you need to pass a public service exam (the fire service staff recruitment exam) and be hired. After being hired you enter a fire academy run by the prefecture or similar body, and over six months to a year you study basic fire service knowledge such as the Fire Service Act and the practical knowledge needed for firefighting, and train in firefighting techniques and using equipment. You are then posted to a fire station. Some firefighters take specialist training in hazardous materials or rescue before moving to special duties. The job is dangerous, so above all you need to be physically fit. Hiring standards often include requirements for height, weight and eyesight, and there is a fitness test as part of the recruitment exam. As for career paths, there is a rank system with up to ten levels, depending on the size of the council. Once you have served long enough you can sit promotion exams. By building experience in the field and passing promotion exams, you move up from firefighter to ranks such as senior firefighter and fire captain.

Ways in

• Vocational college, junior college, kosen and trade skills tests: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Law and public administration. 専修学校 courses in 法律行政 (文化・教養関係) had 6,745 graduates in the 2024 school year, 5,524 of whom started work in a related field (School Basic Survey 2025, table 237). Course matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
• National licence or qualification: Listed by job tag as a qualification related to this job (関連資格): 救急救命士. English name and classification by Peernovo.
• National licence or qualification: Listed by job tag as a qualification related to this job (関連資格): 甲種消防設備士、乙種消防設備士. English name and classification by Peernovo.

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

• 6.55 job openings per applicant at Hello Work (2025). A current demand signal, not a projection. It counts only the jobs and job seekers registered at Hello Work, Japan's public employment offices, and many graduate and professional hires never pass through it.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Paramedic

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Firefighter?

Fire services are run by cities, towns and villages, so you need to pass a public service exam (the fire service staff recruitment exam) and be hired. After being hired you enter a fire academy run by the prefecture or similar body, and over six months to a year you study basic fire service knowledge such as the Fire Service Act and the practical knowledge needed for firefighting, and train in firefighting techniques and using equipment. You are then posted to a fire station. Some firefighters take specialist training in hazardous materials or rescue before moving to special duties. The job is dangerous, so above all you need to be physically fit. Hiring standards often include requirements for height, weight and eyesight, and there is a fitness test as part of the recruitment exam. As for career paths, there is a rank system with up to ten levels, depending on the size of the council. Once you have served long enough you can sit promotion exams. By building experience in the field and passing promotion exams, you move up from firefighter to ranks such as senior firefighter and fire captain.

Do you need a degree to become a Firefighter?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 37% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Law and public administration.

Will AI change the work of a Firefighter?

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

Sources

• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Employment Referrals for General Workers (一般職業紹介状況): Hello Work job-openings-to-applicants ratio by occupation (2025 annual (release of 2026-10-02)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• Statistics Bureau of Japan (MIC): 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査) detailed sample tabulation: employed by occupation, sex, age and education (2020 Census (tables 9-1 and 15-1, published 2022-12-27)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• JILPT (職業情報データベース) via MHLW job tag: job tag download data: 解説系 (descriptions, how to become, related qualifications) and 簡易版数値系 (interests, tasks, education) (解説系 ver.7.01 (2026-06-04); 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00 (2026-03-17)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

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