Figures differ by survey year and population, not necessarily by contradiction. The AJA statement cites the JAniCA 2022 survey: average annual income of 1.966 million yen for ages 20-24 and 4.555 million yen overall, and says the UN working-group figure of 1.5 million yen for new animators traces t…

Figures differ by survey year and population, not necessarily by contradiction. The AJA statement cites the JAniCA 2022 survey: average annual income of 1.966 million yen for ages 20-24 and 4.555 million yen overall, and says the UN working-group figure of 1.5 million yen for new animators traces to a Netflix Japan submission that probably quoted the JAniCA 2018 survey (20-24: 1.546 million yen; 2015: 1.21 million yen). The JAniCA 2026 report's comparison table gives mean annual income 4.446 million yen and median 4.0 million yen for 2026 (respondents of all roles), 4.555 million yen mean in 2023 and 4.408 million yen in 2019; it does not give a 20-24 figure in the text read. The Cabinet Office/JFTC guideline separately reports fact-finding results on pay structure (per cut, per sheet, monthly retainer). Rationale: Values are copied from the AJA footnotes and the JAniCA comparison table. Counterevidence: AJA is a trade body rebutting criticism, and the surveys are self-selected samples mostly connected to JAniCA; the JAniCA table marks response rates as not estimable for 2023 and 2026. Uncertainty: Mean income of freelancers vs employees, and income by role, were not extracted from the chart pages of the JAniCA report. Sources: - https://aja.gr.jp/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2b4128d2460ab71813e5b2813bbff4b6.pdf - https://www.janica.jp/survey/survey2026Report.pdf - https://www.jftc.go.jp/animeshishin_hontai.pdf Checked: 2026-10-17

{
  "context": "Do sources agree on how much Japanese animators earn, and why do the figures differ?"
}