Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere

How to become a Video Editor

Works with the director at a television station or video production company, processing and editing footage with editing equipment to finish films, videos, broadcast programmes and other video works.

Main tasks

Meeting producers, directors and others to understand the structure and aims of the work
Checking all the footage shot with the director and camera crew and choosing what to use
Cutting unneeded parts from the chosen footage and joining the needed shots together
Reviewing the footage again and again and building it into a flowing piece that fits the set running time
Colour grading to make the colour of the whole piece consistent
Making on-screen captions
Advising and instructing picture and sound recording crews on ways of recording that make editing efficient
Attending script meetings
Checking the script and giving advice for accurate performances

Workers in this job say university or vocational college (senmon gakko) 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. Many people graduate from a senmon gakko (vocational college) course in broadcasting, video or sound and are then hired by video production companies, post-production companies or television stations. Some are graduates of university film or media departments. After being hired, video editors are assigned as a "sub" (assistant) under a "main", a fully fledged video editor. After building experience as video editors, some go on to edit big-budget productions or visual effects work.

Ways in

University: Communications & Media degrees, Offered by 22 universities in Japan
Vocational college, junior college, kosen and trade skills tests: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Theatre and film. 専修学校 courses in 演劇・映画 (文化・教養関係) had 2,200 graduates in the 2024 school year, 1,264 of whom started work in a related field (School Basic Survey 2025, table 237). Course matched to the occupation by Peernovo.

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

Average annual income: ¥5,833,100 Private sector only: employers with 10 or more staff. Public servants, such as public school teachers and police officers, are not in these figures.
Monthly base pay (before overtime and bonus): median ¥307,800, and the middle half earn ¥251,700 to ¥414,600 a month.
Pay measured for the wage survey group: Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere
0.80 job openings per applicant at Hello Work (2025). A current demand signal, not a projection. It counts only the jobs and job seekers registered at Hello Work, Japan's public employment offices, and many graduate and professional hires never pass through it.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Video Editor?

How much does a Video Editor earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,833,100 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Video Editor?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 67% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Video Editor?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Basic Survey on Wage Structure (賃金構造基本統計調査) 2025: earnings by occupation (2025 survey (June 2025 pay, 2024 bonus), published 2026-03-24), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Employment Referrals for General Workers (一般職業紹介状況): Hello Work job-openings-to-applicants ratio by occupation (2025 annual (release of 2026-10-02)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Statistics Bureau of Japan (MIC): 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査) detailed sample tabulation: employed by occupation, sex, age and education (2020 Census (tables 9-1 and 15-1, published 2022-12-27)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
JILPT (職業情報データベース) via MHLW job tag: job tag download data: 解説系 (descriptions, how to become, related qualifications) and 簡易版数値系 (interests, tasks, education) (解説系 ver.7.01 (2026-06-04); 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00 (2026-03-17)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

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