Did you get a summer bonus this year?

According to the labor ministry, the average summer bonus payout in 2025 rose by 5.31% from last year, coming in at nearly ¥950,000. That could fund several major purchases, a trip back home, or even some very comfortable breathing room against the seemingly never-ending rising costs.

Bonuses have now gone up for four years in a row, with big jumps in industries like shipbuilding (up 24%), wholesale and retail (up 14%), and finance (up 11%). On the flip side, sectors like services and steel saw declines, reminding us that not everyone is sharing equally in the good news. I think for a lot of us expats, we don't necessarily work for these massive, unionized companies, and seasonal bonuses don't really appear on the radar at all!

What would you do with an extra ¥950,000 hitting your bank account?