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Doctors

How to become a Surgeon

Also called: Doctor

Treats patients' illnesses and injuries, mainly through surgery.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university or a doctorate 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 work as a surgeon you must pass the National Medical Licensing Examination and obtain a medical licence. First you study at a university medical school for six years, gaining specialist knowledge and doing practical training at the same time. Once you pass the university's graduation exams you can sit the national exam, and passing it gives you a medical licence. You then complete at least two years of clinical training as a junior doctor at a teaching hospital such as a university hospital or large hospital, learning while treating real patients. After this training you join a surgical department and become a surgeon. There is a system for being certified as a specialist if you meet the set requirements. After clinical training, surgeons work as hospital doctors and build up a lot of experience. Some become head of department at their hospital, and some set up their own practice. Surgeons who open a clinic usually see a broad range of patients rather than only doing surgery. Some continue research at a university and become lecturers or professors. Medical knowledge and treatment techniques advance quickly, so surgeons must keep training their skills. Surgeons carry heavy responsibility for patients' lives, so they need quick judgement when treating emergencies and the mental strength, patience and fitness to handle long hours of treatment and surgery. Surgery and other procedures also require good relationships with nurses, anaesthetists, radiographers and people from other departments and professions.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Surgeon?

To work as a surgeon you must pass the National Medical Licensing Examination and obtain a medical licence. First you study at a university medical school for six years, gaining specialist knowledge and doing practical training at the same time. Once you pass the university's graduation exams you can sit the national exam, and passing it gives you a medical licence. You then complete at least two years of clinical training as a junior doctor at a teaching hospital such as a university hospital or large hospital, learning while treating real patients. After this training you join a surgical department and become a surgeon. There is a system for being certified as a specialist if you meet the set requirements. After clinical training, surgeons work as hospital doctors and build up a lot of experience. Some become head of department at their hospital, and some set up their own practice. Surgeons who open a clinic usually see a broad range of patients rather than only doing surgery. Some continue research at a university and become lecturers or professors. Medical knowledge and treatment techniques advance quickly, so surgeons must keep training their skills. Surgeons carry heavy responsibility for patients' lives, so they need quick judgement when treating emergencies and the mental strength, patience and fitness to handle long hours of treatment and surgery. Surgery and other procedures also require good relationships with nurses, anaesthetists, radiographers and people from other departments and professions.

How much does a Surgeon earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥15,122,500 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Doctors, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Surgeon?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 99% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Surgeon?

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