Introduction
This report presents a factual summary of the Japanese SES (System Engineering Service) IT staffing job market for the week of July 14–20, 2026. The data covers skill-based demand distribution, monthly contractor rate ranges, and remote work availability across 20 tracked skill categories. All rate figures are expressed in units of ¥10,000 per month. This report is intended for IT freelancers, independent contractors, and staffing professionals seeking an objective, data-driven snapshot of current market conditions in Japan's SES sector. No forecasts or recommendations are included; all content reflects observed figures from the specified collection period.
Market Overview
During the week of July 14–20, 2026, Java dominated the SES job market with a demand share of 29.4%, making it by far the most represented skill in postings. Python followed at 11.8%, and プロジェクトマネジメント (Project Management) ranked third at 8.2%. The remaining skills each held shares ranging from 2.4% to 7.1%, with C at 7.1% and PHP at 4.7% rounding out the top five. The data encompasses 20 distinct skills, with several lower-ranked skills each accounting for exactly 2.4% of total postings, suggesting a relatively fragmented long tail of demand beyond the top few categories.
Monthly rate ranges varied considerably across skills. At the higher end of the spectrum, ネットワークインフラ (Network Infrastructure) recorded a single-point rate of ¥165万/month, while Cisco showed an average of ¥140万 with a range of ¥80万 to ¥190万. PM (Project Manager) averaged ¥87万, and C言語 averaged ¥95万. At the lower end, PHP averaged ¥63万 and C# averaged ¥67万. Several skills—including C, GCP, DevOps, SQL, IBM Cloud VPC, and プロジェクトマネジメント—had null average or minimum rate values, indicating that full rate data was not available for those categories during this period.
Remote work availability was mixed across the market. Of the 20 tracked skills, several showed a remote ratio of 0%, meaning all associated postings were listed as on-site only. These included C, PHP, Cisco, C#, VC++, SQL, PMO, PL/I, GCP, DevOps, and ネットワークインフラ. Conversely, ネットワーク運用, ネットワーク, Windows Server 2025, IBM Cloud VPC, and C言語 each recorded remote ratios of 100%. Java and Python posted moderate remote ratios of 52% and 50%, respectively, while PM and プロジェクトマネジメント showed relatively high remote availability at 67% and 71%.
Skill Demand & Rate Rankings
| Skill | Demand Share (%) | Monthly Rate Range (¥10k/mo) | Remote Ratio (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java | 29.4% | ¥50万 – ¥210万 | 52% |
| Python | 11.8% | ¥50万 – ¥95万 | 50% |
| プロジェクトマネジメント | 8.2% | – ～ ¥130万 | 71% |
| C | 7.1% | – | 0% |
| PHP | 4.7% | ¥50万 – ¥88万 | 0% |
| PM | 3.5% | ¥70万 – ¥110万 | 67% |
| Cisco | 3.5% | ¥80万 – ¥190万 | 0% |
| C# | 3.5% | ¥50万 – ¥80万 | 0% |
| ネットワーク運用 | 2.4% | ¥120万 (fixed) | 100% |
| ネットワークインフラ | 2.4% | ¥165万 (fixed) | 0% |
Detailed Skill Analysis
Java recorded the highest demand share of the week at 29.4%, indicating its substantial presence in the SES market. Monthly rates ranged widely from ¥50万 to ¥210万, with an average of ¥76万, reflecting a broad spectrum of project types and seniority levels. The remote ratio stood at 52%, meaning roughly half of Java postings offered remote work options.
Python held the second-largest share at 11.8%, with monthly rates ranging from ¥50万 to ¥95万 and an average of ¥74万. The remote ratio was 50%, closely mirroring Java's remote availability. Average and minimum rates for Python were identical to Java's lower bound, though the ceiling was considerably lower.
プロジェクトマネジメント accounted for 8.2% of postings and recorded the highest remote ratio among the top three skills at 71%. Complete rate data was not available, though the maximum rate reached ¥130万. This skill category showed the strongest remote work representation among demand leaders.
C ranked fourth at 7.1% demand share, but no rate data—minimum, average, or maximum—was available for this skill during the reporting period. Additionally, the remote ratio for C was 0%, indicating that all associated postings required on-site attendance.
PHP held a 4.7% share with monthly rates ranging from ¥50万 to ¥88万 and an average of ¥63万, the lowest average among skills with full rate data. The remote ratio was 0%, placing PHP entirely in the on-site category for this period.
PM (Project Manager) accounted for 3.5% of postings alongside Cisco and C#. It recorded an average monthly rate of ¥87万, within a range of ¥70万 to ¥110万, and a remote ratio of 67%—the second-highest remote availability among all tracked skills after プロジェクトマネジメント.
Cisco also held a 3.5% share and showed the widest rate range among the top seven skills, spanning ¥80万 to ¥190万 with an average of ¥140万. All Cisco postings were listed as on-site only, with a remote ratio of 0%.
C# rounded out the top eight at 3.5% demand share. Rates ranged from ¥50万 to ¥80万, with an average of ¥67万. Like Cisco and PHP, the remote ratio was 0%, with no remote postings recorded for this skill in the reporting period.
Remote Work Availability
Skills in this dataset fell into three distinct remote work categories. Five skills recorded a remote ratio of 100%: ネットワーク運用, ネットワーク, Windows Server 2025, IBM Cloud VPC, and C言語. These skills had all associated postings listed as fully remote during the July 14–20 period.
A second group showed partial remote availability. プロジェクトマネジメント led this group at 71%, followed by PM at 67%, Java at 52%, and Python at 50%.
The remaining 11 skills—C, PHP, Cisco, C#, VC++, SQL, PMO, PL/I, GCP, DevOps, and ネットワークインフラ—recorded a remote ratio of 0%, indicating that all postings for these skills required on-site presence. This group includes several infrastructure-related skills (Cisco, ネットワークインフラ) as well as legacy language categories (PL/I, VC++) and database-related skills (SQL). Notably, GCP and DevOps, often associated with cloud-native and distributed work environments, also showed 0% remote availability in this dataset.
About This Report
This report is based on SES job posting data collected between July 14 and July 20, 2026. The dataset covers 20 skill categories observed across Japanese SES staffing market listings during this period. Demand share figures represent each skill's proportion of total job postings within the dataset. Monthly rate figures (minimum, average, and maximum) are expressed in units of ¥10,000 and reflect the rates listed in postings where such data was available. Null values indicate that rate data was not recorded or disclosed in the source postings for that skill. Remote ratio figures represent the proportion of postings for each skill that listed remote work as available.
