Cost of living comparison

Kuwait

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. Kuwait Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 11.0% more expensive than Kuwait overall.

Restaurants: pay 8.1% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 70.2% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 58.9% more in Japan
Housing: pay 17.6% less in Japan
Childcare: pay 69.8% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.0% less in Japan
Clothing: pay 7.0% less in Japan

The cost of groceries, childcare, and transportation in Japan are more expensive than in Kuwait. Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Japan.

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Japan vs. Kuwait Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Kuwait, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.1% less for restaurants

	Kuwait	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 KWD2.570	$6.75 ¥1,066	-18.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.91 KWD2.450	$5.10 ¥805	-35.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KWD0.170	$1.13 ¥179	+106.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 KWD0.090	$0.76 ¥120	+146.6%
Average			-8.1%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 70.2% more for groceries

	Kuwait	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 KWD0.330	$1.53 ¥241	+40.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.22 KWD0.690	$5.55 ¥877	+150.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.32 KWD1.650	$5.56 ¥879	+4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 KWD0.650	$2.01 ¥318	-4.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KWD0.840	$2.85 ¥450	+5.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.10 KWD0.340	$2.16 ¥342	+95.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 KWD0.250	$1.08 ¥171	+34.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.67 KWD0.210	$1.54 ¥243	+128.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KWD0.190	$1.92 ¥303	+215.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 KWD0.160	$1.10 ¥174	+118.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 KWD0.150	$1.08 ¥170	+126.8%
Average			+70.2%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.9% more for transportation

	Kuwait	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.25 KWD0.390	$4.11 ¥649	+229.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$51.95 KWD16.060	$63.20 ¥9,986	+21.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,021.80 KWD6,189.540	$21,047.50 ¥3M	+5.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.57 KWD9.140	$24.65 ¥3,895	-16.7%
Average			+58.9%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.6% less for housing

	Kuwait	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.53 KWD9.440	$33.54 ¥5,300	+9.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$776.48 KWD240.040	$546.58 ¥86,367	-29.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$619.33 KWD191.460	$360.78 ¥57,008	-41.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.56 KWD12.230	$113.26 ¥17,897	+186.3%
Average			-17.6%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 69.8% more for childcare

	Kuwait	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.54 KWD77.760	$417.01 ¥65,893	+65.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,500.38 KWD2,009.530	$11,300.14 ¥2M	+73.8%
Average			+69.8%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.68 KWD0.830	$2.57 ¥406	-4.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.71 KWD1.460	$3.06 ¥483	-35.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.74 KWD0.850	$3.83 ¥605	+39.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$97.98 KWD30.290	$53.31 ¥8,424	-45.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.58 KWD3.580	$11.73 ¥1,853	+1.3%
Average			-19.0%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.0% less for clothing

	Kuwait	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.05 KWD11.450	$46.32 ¥7,320	+25.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.45 KWD11.580	$31.33 ¥4,950	-16.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.55 KWD29.540	$59.45 ¥9,394	-37.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.48 KWD21.790	$81.04 ¥12,805	+15.0%
Average			-7.0%

Kuwait vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Kuwait vs. Japan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Japan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 14.5% less likely to have internet access in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Kuwait is about 21 times smaller than Japan.

Moving from Kuwait to Japan · OECD 2023

52 people moved from Kuwait to Japan.

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