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Firefighters

How to become a Paramedic

Also called: Ambulance officer

Gives emergency care at the scene and in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university, vocational college (senmon gakko), 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

Ambulance services in Japan are run by fire departments, so to work on an ambulance you must pass the civil service exam for firefighters and be hired as a firefighter. To work as a paramedic within the fire service you must pass the national paramedic examination and obtain a paramedic licence. It is rare to work as a paramedic from the start. Usually people complete the training needed to be an ambulance crew member at a fire academy, are posted to a station, build work experience, learn specialist knowledge and skills and then gain the qualification. Another route is to study emergency care skills and knowledge at a university or a senmon gakko (vocational college) and sit the national exam after graduating. You are expected to keep sharpening your knowledge and skills every day to keep up with the latest emergency medicine. You must treat patients properly on the way to hospital, so you need to make quick, calm decisions. The work is urgent, so acting quickly and accurately is also important. Above all, people's lives depend on this job, so a strong sense of responsibility is needed.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Paramedic?

Ambulance services in Japan are run by fire departments, so to work on an ambulance you must pass the civil service exam for firefighters and be hired as a firefighter. To work as a paramedic within the fire service you must pass the national paramedic examination and obtain a paramedic licence. It is rare to work as a paramedic from the start. Usually people complete the training needed to be an ambulance crew member at a fire academy, are posted to a station, build work experience, learn specialist knowledge and skills and then gain the qualification. Another route is to study emergency care skills and knowledge at a university or a senmon gakko (vocational college) and sit the national exam after graduating. You are expected to keep sharpening your knowledge and skills every day to keep up with the latest emergency medicine. You must treat patients properly on the way to hospital, so you need to make quick, calm decisions. The work is urgent, so acting quickly and accurately is also important. Above all, people's lives depend on this job, so a strong sense of responsibility is needed.

Do you need a degree to become a Paramedic?

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: Other medical courses.

Will AI change the work of a Paramedic?

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