How Much Do Gastroenterologists Earn in Japan? 2025 Physician Income Data
Gastroenterologists in Japan reported a median annual income of ¥19 million (approximately £91,000) in the latest specialty-level physician income survey from the Physician Career Research Institute.
The 2025 survey, based on responses from 2,055 physicians overall, provides a useful benchmark for gastroenterologists assessing their professional earnings in Japan.
Among the gastroenterology respondents:
Median annual income: ¥19 million (approximately £91,000)
Proportion earning ¥20 million or more: 40.32%
¥20 million threshold: approximately £96,000
Gastroenterology respondents: 124
Importantly, the income figures include earnings from a physician’s main workplace as well as additional or side work.
For gastroenterologists, that distinction is essential when using the data to assess their own compensation.
What is the median income for a gastroenterologist in Japan?
The reported median annual income for gastroenterologists was:
¥19 million (approximately £91,000)
This represents total annual professional income including side work, rather than simply the salary paid by a gastroenterologist’s principal hospital or clinic.
Physicians in Japan may receive income from more than one clinical position.
A gastroenterologist may have a primary hospital role while also undertaking additional sessions, shifts or clinical work at another organisation.
The ¥19 million figure is therefore best understood as a benchmark for total professional income.
It should not be interpreted as an expected basic salary from a single employer.
40.32% of gastroenterologists reported earning ¥20 million or more
The survey provides a second useful benchmark for gastroenterologists.
40.32% of gastroenterology respondents reported annual income of ¥20 million or more (approximately £96,000+).
That means roughly four in ten gastroenterologists included in the survey reported total
professional earnings at or above this level.
For a gastroenterologist evaluating their own compensation, the two core figures are therefore:
Median annual income: ¥19 million (approximately £91,000)
Earning ¥20 million+ (approximately £96,000+): 40.32%
Together, these provide a useful picture of the earnings reported within the specialty.
Why does side work matter for gastroenterologist income?
Additional professional work can make a meaningful contribution to physician earnings in Japan.
Doctors may undertake paid work outside their principal position, including sessions at other hospitals or clinics and other secondary clinical activity.
The Physician Career Research Institute therefore reports annual income including side work.
For gastroenterologists, this means that compensation from the main employer may not reflect total annual professional earnings.
A gastroenterologist earning less than ¥19 million from their principal role could still reach or exceed the survey benchmark when additional work is included.
Equally, the survey does not indicate that gastroenterologists should expect a ¥19 million basic hospital salary.
The figure represents a broader measure of total professional income.
For a gastroenterologist assessing compensation, it may therefore be useful to separate:
guaranteed salary from the principal employer;
additional paid clinical sessions;
income from secondary medical roles; and
total annual professional earnings.
The survey’s ¥19 million benchmark relates most closely to the final category.
What does the ¥19 million median actually represent?
The way income was collected is important when interpreting the headline number.
Respondents did not provide an exact annual income figure.
Instead, earnings were recorded in income bands.
The reported median of ¥19 million (approximately £91,000) represents the midpoint of the relevant ¥18 million–¥20 million band.
It should therefore be treated as an approximate compensation benchmark rather than a precise mathematical median based on exact salary amounts.
For a gastroenterologist reviewing their own earnings, it may be more useful to think of the survey benchmark as:
around ¥18 million–¥20 million in total annual professional income
rather than assuming that ¥19 million is a precise expected income level.
How strong is the gastroenterology sample?
The wider survey included 2,055 physicians, with 124 respondents in gastroenterology.
That provides a useful specialty-specific sample for gastroenterologists looking for current compensation evidence.
However, it remains survey data rather than a complete national census of every gastroenterologist practising in Japan.
Individual earnings can vary according to factors such as:
career stage;
seniority;
employer;
hospital or clinic setting;
working hours;
geographic location;
additional clinical commitments; and
the amount of side work undertaken.
The data are therefore best used as a current specialty benchmark rather than as a guaranteed level of income.
Is ¥19 million a gastroenterologist salary?
No.
The clearest interpretation is:
¥19 million is the reported median total annual professional income for the gastroenterologists surveyed, including side work.
It is not a published base salary.
For a gastroenterologist considering a new position or assessing their current compensation, it can therefore be useful to ask:
What is my guaranteed salary?
How much additional clinical work do I undertake?
What income comes from work outside my primary role?
What is my total professional income across the year?
The survey benchmark should be compared with that final figure.
What should gastroenterologists take from the latest data?
For gastroenterologists in Japan, the 2025 survey provides two clear compensation benchmarks.
Median annual professional income, including side work, was:
¥19 million (approximately £91,000)
And:
40.32% of gastroenterologists reported earning ¥20 million or more (approximately £96,000+).
For an individual gastroenterologist, these figures provide a useful reference point when assessing total annual professional earnings.
The key is to compare like with like.
A salary from one hospital or clinic should not be compared directly with a survey figure that incorporates additional professional work.
For gastroenterologists, the most useful question is therefore not simply:
“What is a gastroenterologist’s salary in Japan?”
It is:
“What is my total annual professional income as a gastroenterologist, including additional clinical work, and how does it compare with the ¥19 million benchmark?”
That is the most meaningful way to use the available gastroenterology compensation data.
Source: Physician Career Research Institute / Mediwel, 2025 Physician Income Survey.
Currency note: Sterling equivalents are approximate conversions using the JPY/GBP exchange rate on 11 September 2026. At that rate, ¥19 million is approximately £91,000 and ¥20 million approximately £96,000. GBP figures are included for reader context only and were not reported by the original Japanese survey.
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