Introduction
This report presents a factual summary of the Japanese IT freelance and SES (System Engineering Service) job market for the week of July 9–15, 2026. The data covers skill-based demand distribution, monthly contract rate ranges, and remote work ratios across 20 tracked skill categories. The figures are drawn from SES job postings active during the specified period and are intended for IT freelancers, contract engineers, and staffing professionals seeking an objective snapshot of current market conditions. All rate figures are expressed in units of ¥10,000 per month. Demand share percentages reflect each skill's proportion of total job postings collected during the observation period. No forecasts or recommendations are included; this report presents verified figures only.
Market Overview
The July 9–15, 2026 SES job market was led by Java, which accounted for 23.2% of all tracked postings — by a significant margin the largest single share in the dataset. The remaining demand was distributed across a diverse range of skills, with COBOL at 8.9%, Python and Cisco both at 7.1%, and PHP at 6.3%. Several other skills — including プロジェクトマネジメント (Project Management), ネットワーク領域 (Network Domain), SQL, VB.net, RHEL, Databricks, and C — each accounted for 3.6% to 4.5% of postings, reflecting a broad spread of active demand across both modern and legacy technology categories.
In terms of monthly contract rates, the market showed a wide range depending on skill. The highest average rate recorded was for プロダクトマネージャー (Product Manager) at ¥1,200,000 per month, followed by SQL at ¥900,000 and AWS at ¥830,000. At the lower end, ヘルプデスク (Help Desk) posted an average rate of ¥430,000 per month, with a maximum of ¥450,000. Java displayed the broadest rate spread of any skill, ranging from ¥550,000 at the minimum to ¥2,100,000 at the maximum, indicating a wide variance in seniority and project complexity within that skill category.
Remote work availability varied considerably across skills. Several categories — including プロジェクトマネジメント, ネットワーク領域, AWS, and ネットワーク — recorded a remote ratio of 100%, meaning all postings within those categories offered remote work arrangements. Conversely, a number of skills including Cisco, C#, VB.net, RHEL, C, intra-mart, and Vue.js recorded a remote ratio of 0%, indicating that all associated postings required on-site attendance. The overall market thus presented a mixed remote work landscape, with significant variation by skill area.
Skill Demand & Rate Rankings
| Skill | Demand Share (%) | Monthly Rate Range (¥10k/mo) | Remote Ratio (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java | 23.2% | ¥55 – ¥210 | 65% |
| COBOL | 8.9% | ¥70 – ¥75 | 60% |
| Python | 7.1% | ¥50 – ¥95 | 50% |
| Cisco | 7.1% | ¥53 – ¥88 | 0% |
| PHP | 6.3% | ¥50 – ¥88 | 14% |
| C# | 5.4% | ¥70 – ¥80 | 0% |
| プロジェクトマネジメント | 4.5% | – / max ¥130 | 100% |
| ネットワーク領域 | 4.5% | – / max ¥130 | 100% |
| SQL | 4.5% | ¥90 – ¥90 | 20% |
| VB.net | 3.6% | – / max ¥70 | 0% |
Detailed Skill Analysis
Java recorded the highest demand share in this period at 23.2%, representing nearly a quarter of all tracked SES postings. Monthly rates ranged from ¥550,000 at the minimum to ¥2,100,000 at the maximum, with an average of ¥800,000 — the widest spread of any skill in the dataset. The remote ratio stood at 65%, meaning nearly two-thirds of Java postings offered remote arrangements.
COBOL held the second-largest demand share at 8.9%, reflecting continued activity in legacy system-related projects. The rate range was narrow, spanning ¥700,000 to ¥750,000, with an average of ¥700,000, suggesting a relatively standardized pricing band for this skill. The remote ratio was 60%, indicating that a majority of COBOL postings permitted remote work.
Python and Cisco were tied at 7.1% demand share each, though the two skills differed substantially in their rate and remote work profiles. Python carried an average rate of ¥800,000, ranging from ¥500,000 to ¥950,000, with a remote ratio of 50%. Cisco, by contrast, averaged ¥580,000 per month with a range of ¥530,000 to ¥880,000, and recorded a remote ratio of 0% — all postings required on-site attendance.
PHP accounted for 6.3% of postings, with an average monthly rate of ¥650,000 and a range of ¥500,000 to ¥880,000. The remote ratio was notably low at 14%, indicating that the large majority of PHP postings in this period were on-site roles.
C# represented 5.4% of demand, with rates concentrated in a tight range of ¥700,000 to ¥800,000 and an average of ¥760,000. Like Cisco, C# recorded a remote ratio of 0% for this period, with all associated postings requiring on-site work.
プロジェクトマネジメント (Project Management) and ネットワーク領域 (Network Domain) each accounted for 4.5% of postings, and both shared identical data profiles: average and minimum rate data were not available, with a recorded maximum of ¥1,300,000 per month. Both categories also reported a remote ratio of 100%, with all postings in each category offering fully remote arrangements.
SQL also held a 4.5% demand share, with a fixed rate of ¥900,000 per month across minimum, average, and maximum values, indicating a single or highly uniform pricing point in the postings captured during this period. The remote ratio for SQL was 20%, with the majority of postings requiring on-site attendance.
Remote Work Availability
The data for July 9–15, 2026 revealed a clear divide in remote work availability across skill categories. Skills with a remote ratio of 100% — meaning all associated postings offered remote work — included プロジェクトマネジメント, ネットワーク領域, AWS, and ネットワーク. Databricks also recorded a high remote ratio of 75%, while Java came in at 65% and COBOL at 60%.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, a substantial number of skills recorded a remote ratio of 0%, indicating that no postings within those categories offered remote work. These skills included Cisco, C#, VB.net, RHEL, C, intra-mart, and Vue.js. PHP was among the lowest non-zero values at 14%, and SQL recorded a ratio of 20%.
Python and ヘルプデスク both sat at 50%, positioned midway between the two extremes. プロダクトマネージャー (Product Manager) recorded a remote ratio of 0% despite carrying the highest average rate in the dataset at ¥1,200,000 per month, and Windows Server 2025 registered a remote ratio of 100% at a 1.8% demand share.
About This Report
This report is based on SES job posting data collected from publicly available listings during the week of July 9–15, 2026. The dataset covers 20 tracked skill categories and reflects postings active within the specified observation window. Demand share percentages represent each skill's proportion of the total postings collected. Monthly rate figures (minimum, average, and maximum) are expressed in units of ¥10,000 and reflect the rate values stated in the source postings. Remote ratios represent the proportion of postings within each skill category that explicitly indicated remote work availability. Skills with null rate values had insufficient or unavailable pricing data in the collected postings.