Peernovo
Automobile maintenance and repair workers

How to become a Vehicle Body Repairer and Painter

Also called: Vehicle body mechanic, Panel beater, Spray painter (vehicle repair)

Repairs damage to vehicle frames and dents and scratches in bodywork (panel beating), then paints the repaired areas.

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 education or qualifications are required. New graduates may come from vehicle body repair or auto body courses at a senmon gakko (vocational college), but overall the share of mid-career hires is large. Mid-career hires include people moving from general vehicle repair workshops, as well as people from other industries who come through Hello Work (public employment service), private job sites, vocational training centres and so on. Perhaps partly because young people are less interested in cars, the vehicle repair industry, including general repair, has a constant shortage of workers. After joining you learn the work on the job alongside an instructor and gain the full range of knowledge and skills within a few years, but because the work deals with appearance, a lot depends on your own eye. Later, at larger workplaces, there are career paths such as training new staff and moving into management. The qualification for vehicle repair is the national automotive mechanic qualification overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, divided into first grade, second grade, third grade and special mechanic. The vehicle body mechanic, one of the special mechanic types, certifies knowledge and skills in panel beating and painting, and can help show your expertise and win customers' trust. There is also a wide range of related qualifications, none of them essential, such as the painting skilled worker (metal painting) qualification from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's ginou kentei (national trade skills test), welder (arc welding), welder (gas welding), organic solvent work chief, and hazardous materials handler (Class B Category 4). The job suits people who are meticulous, keen to learn and care about customer satisfaction. It is not a requirement, but in practice many love cars. The industry looks for people committed to keeping drivers safe and proud that their work is part of Japan's social infrastructure.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

Related jobs

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a Vehicle Body Repairer and Painter?

No education or qualifications are required. New graduates may come from vehicle body repair or auto body courses at a senmon gakko (vocational college), but overall the share of mid-career hires is large. Mid-career hires include people moving from general vehicle repair workshops, as well as people from other industries who come through Hello Work (public employment service), private job sites, vocational training centres and so on. Perhaps partly because young people are less interested in cars, the vehicle repair industry, including general repair, has a constant shortage of workers. After joining you learn the work on the job alongside an instructor and gain the full range of knowledge and skills within a few years, but because the work deals with appearance, a lot depends on your own eye. Later, at larger workplaces, there are career paths such as training new staff and moving into management. The qualification for vehicle repair is the national automotive mechanic qualification overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, divided into first grade, second grade, third grade and special mechanic. The vehicle body mechanic, one of the special mechanic types, certifies knowledge and skills in panel beating and painting, and can help show your expertise and win customers' trust. There is also a wide range of related qualifications, none of them essential, such as the painting skilled worker (metal painting) qualification from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's ginou kentei (national trade skills test), welder (arc welding), welder (gas welding), organic solvent work chief, and hazardous materials handler (Class B Category 4). The job suits people who are meticulous, keen to learn and care about customer satisfaction. It is not a requirement, but in practice many love cars. The industry looks for people committed to keeping drivers safe and proud that their work is part of Japan's social infrastructure.

How much does a Vehicle Body Repairer and Painter earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,038,000 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Automobile maintenance and repair workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Vehicle Body Repairer and Painter?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 7% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: National trade skills test (技能検定); Vocational college (専門学校) course: Automotive maintenance.

Will AI change the work of a Vehicle Body Repairer and Painter?

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