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Wooden and paper product manufacturing workers

How to become a Joinery Maker

Also called: Shoji fitter, Joinery woodworker

Makes and fits wooden fittings such as doors, fusuma (sliding paper-covered doors) and shoji (paper screens).

Main tasks

Workers in this job say 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

No particular education or qualification is required to start. New school leavers find jobs through their school or Hello Work (public employment service). Mid-career hires often join through Hello Work or job advertisements. There are also vocational training schools specialising in joinery, and some people study there before finding work. Joinery making needs knowledge of the properties of wood (the main material), blades, machines, tools, paints, adhesives, working methods and building. The skills needed include sharpening and adjusting blades, setting up jobs, operating machine tools and repairing damage, and you learn these through experience. A related qualification is the joinery making technician grade of the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which is valued as proof of skill. Good finger and hand skills and a good sense of shape are desirable. General knowledge of building is also an advantage.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

Related jobs

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Joinery Maker?

No particular education or qualification is required to start. New school leavers find jobs through their school or Hello Work (public employment service). Mid-career hires often join through Hello Work or job advertisements. There are also vocational training schools specialising in joinery, and some people study there before finding work. Joinery making needs knowledge of the properties of wood (the main material), blades, machines, tools, paints, adhesives, working methods and building. The skills needed include sharpening and adjusting blades, setting up jobs, operating machine tools and repairing damage, and you learn these through experience. A related qualification is the joinery making technician grade of the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which is valued as proof of skill. Good finger and hand skills and a good sense of shape are desirable. General knowledge of building is also an advantage.

How much does a Joinery Maker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,341,900 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Wooden and paper product manufacturing workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Joinery Maker?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 12% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: National trade skills test (技能検定).

Will AI change the work of a Joinery Maker?

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