Peernovo
Comprehensive clerical workers

How to become a General Office Clerk

Also called: Office clerk, Office administrator

Does a wide range of routine office work rather than specialising in one particular area.

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 to start. People hired mid-career find jobs through Hello Work (public employment service) and job websites, and some register with or join a staffing agency and are placed with client companies and organisations. You start with support tasks and improve your administrative skills as you gain experience. As office work becomes more advanced and specialised, some employers look for related skills and qualifications such as computer skills, document writing, bookkeeping and spoken English. So it is important to keep developing yourself, for example by attending courses or doing distance learning. Related qualifications include the Business Career Test, the Computer Services Skills Assessment Test, the secretarial skills test and Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), which are often useful in the job. Much of the work is routine, so accuracy, attention and carefulness are needed. During busy periods, speed is also needed.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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

Questions people ask

How do I become a General Office Clerk?

No particular education or qualification is required to start. People hired mid-career find jobs through Hello Work (public employment service) and job websites, and some register with or join a staffing agency and are placed with client companies and organisations. You start with support tasks and improve your administrative skills as you gain experience. As office work becomes more advanced and specialised, some employers look for related skills and qualifications such as computer skills, document writing, bookkeeping and spoken English. So it is important to keep developing yourself, for example by attending courses or doing distance learning. Related qualifications include the Business Career Test, the Computer Services Skills Assessment Test, the secretarial skills test and Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), which are often useful in the job. Much of the work is routine, so accuracy, attention and carefulness are needed. During busy periods, speed is also needed.

How much does a General Office Clerk earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,413,900 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).

Do you need a degree to become a General Office Clerk?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 32% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Business.

Will AI change the work of a General Office Clerk?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, 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