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.
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