Foreign Executives Prominent in Japan’s Top Earners List

A Widening Gap with Employees

Foreign managers accounted for half of the top 10 highest paid corporate executives at Japan’s listed companies in fiscal 2025, according to a survey by Tokyo Shōkō Research. The highest compensation by far was ¥13.4 billion for Joseph DePinto, a former director for Seven & i Holdings, who was also CEO of US subsidiary 7-Eleven.

SoftBank Group Director Rene Haas and Kioxia Holdings Chairman Stacy J. Smith were in second and third, respectively, so all of the top three were foreign executives. The highest-paid Japanese executive was Sony Group President Totoki Hiroki with ¥2.8 billion.

Highest Paid Executives at Japanese Listed Companies (Fiscal 2025)

1. Joseph DePinto (Seven & i Holdings), ¥13.4 billion
2. Rene Haas (SoftBank Group), ¥6.1 billion
3. Stacy J. Smith (Kioxia Holdings), ¥4.4 billion
4. Totoki Hiroki (Sony Group), ¥2.8 billion
5. Christopher Willcox (Nomura Holdings), ¥2.6 billion
6. Christophe Weber (Takeda Pharmaceutical), ¥2.3 billion
7. Toyoda Akio (Toyota), ¥2.1 billion
8. Kawai Toshiki (Tokyo Electron), ¥2.1 billion
9. Okafuji Masahiro (Itōchū), ¥2.0 billion
10. Okuda Kentarō (Nomura Holdings), ¥1.6 billion

Created by Nippon.com based on data from Tokyo Shōkō Research.

The median executive-to-employee pay ratio across all listed firms was 9.7 times in fiscal 2025 (down from 10.6 times the previous year). The widest disparity was at Toyota, where Chairman Toyoda Akio’s pay of ¥1.0 billion was over 100 times greater than the average ¥10 million salary of company employees. Including his stock-based compensation, Toyoda earned ¥2.1 billion overall, bringing the gap to 210 times greater.

Although employee pay raises have become standard at listed companies in recent years, Tokyo Shōkō Research notes that executive compensation has seen “an increase in noncash remuneration, including performance-linked pay and stock compensation, similar to those at Western companies, widening the gap with employees.”

The number of executives receiving individual annual compensation of more than ¥100 million rose to 1,345 at 606 listed companies in fiscal 2025. This figure increased for the sixth consecutive year to reach a new high. Hitachi had the most such executives at a record 34, followed by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group with 18. Among the top 10, electronics and financial firms accounted for four each.

Data Sources

• Data on executive compensation at Japanese listed companies (Japanese) from Tokyo Shōkō Research.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: From left, Totoki Hiroki [Sony Group], Toyoda Akio [Toyota], Kawai Toshiki [Tokyo Electron], Okafuji Masahiro [Itōchū]. All © Jiji.)