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Delivery workers

How to become a Route Delivery Driver

Also called: Contract delivery driver, Goods delivery driver, Delivery salesperson, Route salesperson, Route collection and delivery driver

Delivers goods by vehicle to set shops, businesses and other places on fixed days, times and routes.

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

To start you need a driving licence suited to the vehicle. For example, convenience store deliveries mainly use 2-tonne trucks, so a semi-medium vehicle licence is essential. Education does not matter. There is a lot of mid-career hiring. Some drivers have experience as taxi drivers, but many move between companies in the same industry. For about the first month, new drivers are trained in operations management and health and safety, then ride along with an instructor or senior driver, learning on the job how to load and unload, the delivery routes and how to deal with shop staff, using the company manual that shows shop maps, where goods go and the surrounding roads. Including on-the-job training, the training period is usually one to three months. As a career path, after gaining some experience some drivers take training or sit the operations manager and health and safety manager exams, become operations managers and move up into management. Arrival times at delivery sites are often fixed, so punctuality is important. You sometimes carry crates of goods, so a certain level of fitness is needed. Smooth communication with staff at delivery sites is important, and you need to greet people when arriving and leaving and behave politely with good manners. You must also take care of your appearance, for example wearing a uniform and name badge.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Route Delivery Driver?

To start you need a driving licence suited to the vehicle. For example, convenience store deliveries mainly use 2-tonne trucks, so a semi-medium vehicle licence is essential. Education does not matter. There is a lot of mid-career hiring. Some drivers have experience as taxi drivers, but many move between companies in the same industry. For about the first month, new drivers are trained in operations management and health and safety, then ride along with an instructor or senior driver, learning on the job how to load and unload, the delivery routes and how to deal with shop staff, using the company manual that shows shop maps, where goods go and the surrounding roads. Including on-the-job training, the training period is usually one to three months. As a career path, after gaining some experience some drivers take training or sit the operations manager and health and safety manager exams, become operations managers and move up into management. Arrival times at delivery sites are often fixed, so punctuality is important. You sometimes carry crates of goods, so a certain level of fitness is needed. Smooth communication with staff at delivery sites is important, and you need to greet people when arriving and leaving and behave politely with good manners. You must also take care of your appearance, for example wearing a uniform and name badge.

How much does a Route Delivery Driver earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,302,400 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Truck drivers (own-account delivery), which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Route Delivery Driver?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 16% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Route Delivery Driver?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, 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