Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. Panama Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 11.8% cheaper than Panama overall.

Restaurants: pay 30.1% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 4.2% less in Japan
Transportation: pay 26.4% more in Japan
Housing: pay 30.0% less in Japan
Childcare: pay 9.6% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.1% more in Japan
Clothing: pay 9.3% less in Japan

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

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Japan vs. Panama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.1% less for restaurants

	Panama	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.20 PAB8.20	$6.75 ¥1,066	-17.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.90 PAB8.90	$5.10 ¥805	-42.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$1.13 ¥179	-19.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 PAB1.30	$0.76 ¥120	-42.0%
Average			-30.1%

Panama vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.2% less for groceries

	Panama	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$2.28 PAB2.28	$1.53 ¥241	-33.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$5.55 ¥877	-10.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$5.56 ¥879	-21.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 PAB2.56	$2.01 ¥318	-21.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.42 PAB3.42	$2.85 ¥450	-16.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$2.16 ¥342	+16.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 PAB0.59	$1.08 ¥171	+82.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.76 PAB1.76	$1.54 ¥243	-12.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 PAB1.67	$1.92 ¥303	+14.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 PAB1.09	$1.10 ¥174	+0.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.14 PAB1.14	$1.08 ¥170	-5.8%
Average			-4.2%

Panama vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.4% more for transportation

	Panama	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 PAB4.34	$4.11 ¥649	-5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 PAB23.00	$63.20 ¥9,986	+174.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	$21,047.50 ¥3M	-12.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.62 PAB16.62	$24.65 ¥3,895	+48.3%
Average			+26.4%

Panama vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.0% less for housing

	Panama	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.81 PAB49.81	$33.54 ¥5,300	-32.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$789.50 PAB789.50	$546.58 ¥86,367	-30.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$614.84 PAB614.84	$360.78 ¥57,008	-41.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$96.53 PAB96.53	$113.26 ¥17,897	+17.3%
Average			-30.0%

Panama vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 9.6% more for childcare

	Panama	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$417.01 ¥65,893	-23.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	$11,300.14 ¥2M	+56.6%
Average			+9.6%

Panama vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 PAB2.21	$2.57 ¥406	+16.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.73 PAB3.73	$3.06 ¥483	-18.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.29 PAB5.29	$3.83 ¥605	-27.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.91 PAB50.91	$53.31 ¥8,424	+4.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.13 PAB6.13	$11.73 ¥1,853	+91.2%
Average			+14.1%

Panama vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.3% less for clothing

	Panama	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.56 PAB45.56	$46.32 ¥7,320	+1.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.71 PAB36.71	$31.33 ¥4,950	-14.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.81 PAB69.81	$59.45 ¥9,394	-14.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.33 PAB88.33	$81.04 ¥12,805	-8.3%
Average			-9.3%

Panama 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: Panama vs. Japan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Japan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Make 81.7% more money in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Panama is about 5 times smaller than Japan.

Moving from Panama to Japan · OECD 2023

95 people moved from Panama to Japan.

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