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Administrative and managerial workers of corporations and organizations

How to become a HR Manager

Manages and supervises the work of the human resources section in a national or local government body, company, association, foundation or other organisation.

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

People are either promoted from within or hired from outside mid-career. Internally, some reach the role after routine transfers to other departments followed by some years in HR, whether they were hired for general or career-track roles, while others come after experience in sales or similar. Mid-career, some apply directly for the manager post, while others move using HR and employee relations experience from another employer, work for a few years and then become manager. When promoted to a management role, people usually take some kind of management training, such as training on workplace compliance (including sexual harassment and power harassment), on HR management such as assessing staff performance, and on showing leadership, supporting staff and building a better workplace culture. An HR manager coordinates a lot with other departments, so strong communication skills are needed. Building HR systems often involves reading a wide range of literature and documents and putting things in writing, so reading and writing skills are needed too. Once policies and proposals are set, there are often discussions with senior management and unions, so presentation skills to explain logically and negotiating skills are also needed. Work style reform and other changes mean many changes to employment law, so you need to keep up with information on changes to laws and systems day to day. After promotion to management you may need to gain the legally required health and safety manager qualification. To build their expertise, some people take exams such as career consultant or certified social insurance and labour consultant. As well as HR and employee relations paperwork going paperless, there is a chance that digital technology such as AI will be used more widely in recruitment, to read application forms, and to judge suitability for placements, so digital literacy is needed. As a manager, with staff of different ages and experience, you need the leadership to communicate closely, make the most of each person's strengths and motivate them, and to look after staff who are struggling. You also need to run regular staff attitude and satisfaction surveys to understand problems in the workplace.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a HR Manager?

People are either promoted from within or hired from outside mid-career. Internally, some reach the role after routine transfers to other departments followed by some years in HR, whether they were hired for general or career-track roles, while others come after experience in sales or similar. Mid-career, some apply directly for the manager post, while others move using HR and employee relations experience from another employer, work for a few years and then become manager. When promoted to a management role, people usually take some kind of management training, such as training on workplace compliance (including sexual harassment and power harassment), on HR management such as assessing staff performance, and on showing leadership, supporting staff and building a better workplace culture. An HR manager coordinates a lot with other departments, so strong communication skills are needed. Building HR systems often involves reading a wide range of literature and documents and putting things in writing, so reading and writing skills are needed too. Once policies and proposals are set, there are often discussions with senior management and unions, so presentation skills to explain logically and negotiating skills are also needed. Work style reform and other changes mean many changes to employment law, so you need to keep up with information on changes to laws and systems day to day. After promotion to management you may need to gain the legally required health and safety manager qualification. To build their expertise, some people take exams such as career consultant or certified social insurance and labour consultant. As well as HR and employee relations paperwork going paperless, there is a chance that digital technology such as AI will be used more widely in recruitment, to read application forms, and to judge suitability for placements, so digital literacy is needed. As a manager, with staff of different ages and experience, you need the leadership to communicate closely, make the most of each person's strengths and motivate them, and to look after staff who are struggling. You also need to run regular staff attitude and satisfaction surveys to understand problems in the workplace.

How much does a HR Manager earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥9,667,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Administrative and managerial workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a HR Manager?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 54% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Business & Commerce degrees.

Will AI change the work of a HR Manager?

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