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Other social welfare specialist professionals

How to become a Welfare Social Worker

Also called: Family counsellor, Caseworker, Child welfare officer, Disability welfare officer, Single-parent family support worker, Child psychologist, Welfare office caseworker, Community support worker

Uses specialist knowledge of welfare to advise and support people who are having difficulties in daily life.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say 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

To become a social worker you usually gain one of the national qualifications: certified social worker or certified psychiatric social worker. To work as a civil servant at a prefectural or municipal welfare office, you must hold the social welfare officer appointment qualification. After joining a workplace, you work while building experience on the job. This job demands continual learning, and many certified social workers use the lifelong training scheme at the Japanese Association of Certified Social Workers' lifelong training centre. To support skill building and career progress, the Japanese Accreditation Organization for Certified Social Workers runs an accredited certified social worker scheme that recognises the practical ability of certified social workers with at least five years' experience. The work centres on advising people, so strong communication skills are needed. You must negotiate and work with medical institutions, government and others as well as the people you support and their families, so coordination skills are also important. Because you deal with people who need help, a sense of mission, a sense of justice and compassion matter too.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Welfare Social Worker?

To become a social worker you usually gain one of the national qualifications: certified social worker or certified psychiatric social worker. To work as a civil servant at a prefectural or municipal welfare office, you must hold the social welfare officer appointment qualification. After joining a workplace, you work while building experience on the job. This job demands continual learning, and many certified social workers use the lifelong training scheme at the Japanese Association of Certified Social Workers' lifelong training centre. To support skill building and career progress, the Japanese Accreditation Organization for Certified Social Workers runs an accredited certified social worker scheme that recognises the practical ability of certified social workers with at least five years' experience. The work centres on advising people, so strong communication skills are needed. You must negotiate and work with medical institutions, government and others as well as the people you support and their families, so coordination skills are also important. Because you deal with people who need help, a sense of mission, a sense of justice and compassion matter too.

How much does a Welfare Social Worker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,416,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other social welfare specialist professionals, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Welfare Social Worker?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 42% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Social Work & Community degrees; Vocational college (専門学校) course: Social welfare.

Will AI change the work of a Welfare Social Worker?

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