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Shop assistants

How to become a Supermarket Assistant

Also called: Grocery store assistant, Supermarket salesperson

Arranges food, clothing, household goods and other products in a supermarket so they are easy to shop for, restocks shelves, helps customers and sells goods.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school or university 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 qualifications are needed to start. Work manuals are provided, so you learn the job by following them and taking advice from supervisors and senior staff. However, preparing fresh food takes skill and experience as well as following the manual. New graduates are usually hired through their school, job magazines or job websites, and people changing careers mostly through Hello Work (public employment service) and job advertisements. Many staff are part-timers or students working casually, and the store manager hires them. Some part-time staff are made permanent employees, depending on their length of service, hours and attitude, and given more responsible work. After gaining experience serving customers in different departments and handling cash, some people are promoted to store manager or move into buying.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Supermarket Assistant?

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start. Work manuals are provided, so you learn the job by following them and taking advice from supervisors and senior staff. However, preparing fresh food takes skill and experience as well as following the manual. New graduates are usually hired through their school, job magazines or job websites, and people changing careers mostly through Hello Work (public employment service) and job advertisements. Many staff are part-timers or students working casually, and the store manager hires them. Some part-time staff are made permanent employees, depending on their length of service, hours and attitude, and given more responsible work. After gaining experience serving customers in different departments and handling cash, some people are promoted to store manager or move into buying.

How much does a Supermarket Assistant earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,847,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Shop assistants, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Supermarket Assistant?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 21% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme.

Will AI change the work of a Supermarket Assistant?

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