Asia · Verified annual-leave guide

🇯🇵Japan

Eligible employees generally receive 10 days after six months, increasing with service up to 20 days, subject to attendance and working-pattern rules.

Statutory paid annual leave10 days after 6 months, rising with service to 20 daysAnnual-leave context
Comparable 5-day-week equivalent10 days at year 1; 16 at 5 years; 20 at 10 yearsNormalized comparison value; see method below.
Official sourceVerifiedJapan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
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How to make your leave go further

Public-holiday planning

  • Golden Week is the standout period: several national holidays cluster from late April into early May.
  • Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox can sometimes combine into a “Silver Week” pattern.
  • Substitute and Citizens’ Holidays can create extra days off when statutory conditions are met.

Legal basis and comparison method

Eligible employees generally receive 10 days after six months, increasing with service up to 20 days, subject to attendance and working-pattern rules.

Equivalent by service length

1st year / first full entitlement10 days
2 years11 days
5 years16 days
10 years20 days
20+ years20 days

Simplified comparison points. Actual legal thresholds may use anniversaries, cumulative service, education credits or other rules.

Regional and calendar caveats

The planner combines weekends with supported public-holiday data and can use first-level regional calendars where the dataset provides them. Employer-specific, municipal and sector-specific days can still differ.

Official employment source: Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Open official guidance ↗

This is a planning aid, not employment-law advice. Entitlement can depend on tenure, work pattern, sector, contract, collective agreement and regional law.

Planner

The planner combines weekends with supported public-holiday data and can use first-level regional calendars where the dataset provides them. Employer-specific, municipal and sector-specific days can still differ.

Plan your best breaks →