The US Department of Education has released its quadrennial report on the US Teaching Corps.
(Video and article: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/08/15/the-nations-teaching-force-is-still-mostly.html)
The average US teacher is female, white, 42 years old, has 14 years of experience, makes $55k a year, and works 53 hours a week.
The Center on International Education Benchmarking offers this info on teachers in Japan.
(http://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/japan-overview/japan-teacher-and-principal-quality/)
Japanese teachers make only slightly less than US teachers to start. After 10 years, they are making 12% more than US teachers. Their top salaries are 1/3 higher than US teachers.
This CBS report from 2010 stresses the higher social status of teachers in Japan (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/respect-for-japanese-teachers-means-top-results/).
This Atlantic article notes that economic disparity has a smaller impact in Japanese schools than it does in the US (https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/08/japan-equal-education-school-cost/535611/).
Curious about teaching in China? Come to hear Lenora Chu at USC on October 4 and read her book, Little Soldiers.
http://china.usc.edu/calendar/little-soldiers-american-boy-chinese-school-and-global-race-achieve
.