I'm looking at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos267.htm#earnings which is showing that the median annual earnings software engineers in the US are about $80,000.

I'm curious, what is the situation like in Japan? And how does the cost of living in Japan compare to the cost of living in the US for the relevant regions in each country (the areas where the most/best software engineering jobs are located)?

That bls.gov link I gave also gave more information about the high and low ends of software engineer earnings in the US, and I'd appreciate similar information for Japan, too.