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Care workers (medical and welfare facilities, etc.)

How to become a Residential Care Worker

Looks after and keeps company people who live in or attend social welfare facilities, such as older people and people with disability who find it hard to manage daily life on their own.

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 qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but many people who get these jobs have studied social welfare at university or a senmon gakko (vocational college) and qualified as certified care workers (kaigo fukushishi) or similar. You often work with older people, people with disability and others who have difficulties with daily life or with physical or mental functioning, so you need deep knowledge and understanding of each person's situation. You also need to know accurately the type and level of each person's disability and to treat every client fairly. Physical fitness and a sense of responsibility for helping clients are also needed.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Residential Care Worker?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but many people who get these jobs have studied social welfare at university or a senmon gakko (vocational college) and qualified as certified care workers (kaigo fukushishi) or similar. You often work with older people, people with disability and others who have difficulties with daily life or with physical or mental functioning, so you need deep knowledge and understanding of each person's situation. You also need to know accurately the type and level of each person's disability and to treat every client fairly. Physical fitness and a sense of responsibility for helping clients are also needed.

How much does a Residential Care Worker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,880,200 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).

Do you need a degree to become a Residential Care Worker?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 15% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Care work.

Will AI change the work of a Residential Care Worker?

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