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Security staff

How to become a Security Guard

Also called: Station Security Guard, Airport Security Guard, Correctional Facility Security Guard, Gatekeeper, Warehouse Security Guard, Building Security Guard, Night Watchman

Is employed by a security company to prevent, detect early and respond to accidents, fires, break-ins and other incidents by being stationed at or patrolling clients' offices, factories, shopping centres and other premises.

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 under the Security Business Act some people cannot do the work, including people under 18, people declared bankrupt, people released from prison less than five years ago, members of organised crime groups and people addicted to alcohol, stimulants or other drugs. New graduates usually join a security company and are assigned to facility security (or assigned to another department and later moved there). After joining, you take at least 20 hours of new-staff training set by the Security Business Act, register as a security guard, and then go through each company's job-specific training, on-the-job training and off-the-job training before working as a guard. As well as learning the related laws, you train in practical skills such as protecting yourself with defensive equipment, using fire extinguishers in case of fire, and first aid including CPR. The Security Business Act also requires working guards to take at least eight hours of refresher training every six months. Security companies increasingly rotate staff through different jobs to give them broad experience and develop them as future managers. However, the security industry is also short of workers, so there are many mid-career vacancies. People with no experience who move from other industries take new-staff training and other training, like new graduates, before being sent to a site. Qualifications related to security work include public qualifications from the prefectural public safety commission, such as security guard instruction and training manager and the facility security work certification, and private qualifications such as Security Planner, set by the National Security Services Association. Gaining these qualifications while building experience on site to deepen your expertise leads to career progress. Security guards need a commitment to obeying laws and rules, a sense of responsibility for protecting people's lives and property, and quick, sound judgement and the ability to act.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Security Guard?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but under the Security Business Act some people cannot do the work, including people under 18, people declared bankrupt, people released from prison less than five years ago, members of organised crime groups and people addicted to alcohol, stimulants or other drugs. New graduates usually join a security company and are assigned to facility security (or assigned to another department and later moved there). After joining, you take at least 20 hours of new-staff training set by the Security Business Act, register as a security guard, and then go through each company's job-specific training, on-the-job training and off-the-job training before working as a guard. As well as learning the related laws, you train in practical skills such as protecting yourself with defensive equipment, using fire extinguishers in case of fire, and first aid including CPR. The Security Business Act also requires working guards to take at least eight hours of refresher training every six months. Security companies increasingly rotate staff through different jobs to give them broad experience and develop them as future managers. However, the security industry is also short of workers, so there are many mid-career vacancies. People with no experience who move from other industries take new-staff training and other training, like new graduates, before being sent to a site. Qualifications related to security work include public qualifications from the prefectural public safety commission, such as security guard instruction and training manager and the facility security work certification, and private qualifications such as Security Planner, set by the National Security Services Association. Gaining these qualifications while building experience on site to deepen your expertise leads to career progress. Security guards need a commitment to obeying laws and rules, a sense of responsibility for protecting people's lives and property, and quick, sound judgement and the ability to act.

How much does a Security Guard earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,799,400 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Security staff, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Security Guard?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 26% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Security Guard?

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