It is found in coniferous and deciduous forests in Russia, China, Korea and Japan.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a least-concern species.

The IOC World Bird List recognizes the following subspecies: Yungipicus kizuki permutatus, Y. k. seebohmi, Y. k. nippon, Y. k. shikokuensis, Y. k. kizuki (the nominate subspecies), Y. k. matsudairai, Y. k. kotataki, Y. k. amamii, Y. k. nigrescens and Y. k.

A white supercilium starts above the eye and continues to the neck and breast.

This woodpecker is found in Korea, northeastern China, southeastern Siberia, Sakhalin, Japan and the Ryukyu Islands.

[6] The Japanese pygmy woodpecker occurs in pairs and mixed-species foraging flocks, searching on trees for invertebrates, such as spiders, caterpillars, ants and aphids, and berries.

[6] Its calls are khit and kzz notes, and it drums weakly in short bursts.