Japan's Golden Week and China's Labour Day break: planning early May

Two breaks in the same fortnight

Golden Week is the name for a cluster of Japanese national holidays at the end of April and the start of May. Mainland China's Labour Day break falls in the same fortnight but follows different rules: it is set each year by a State Council notice that joins the statutory days with a weekend and moves working days around.

Because the two overlap for a few days, it is tempting to treat early May as one shared holiday. In practice there are days when Japan is off and the mainland works, days when the mainland is off and Japan works, and only a handful when both are at their desks.

Japan's Golden Week, day by day

Four national holidays make up Golden Week: Shōwa Day on 29 April, Constitution Memorial Day on 3 May, Greenery Day on 4 May and Children's Day on 5 May. When one of them falls on a Sunday, the next weekday that is not a holiday becomes a substitute holiday.

In 2026 Shōwa Day is a Wednesday, and 3 May is a Sunday, so Wednesday 6 May is a substitute holiday. Government offices are therefore off on 29 April and then from Saturday 2 to Wednesday 6 May. Thursday 30 April and Friday 1 May are normal working days for them; some companies close on those days too, but that is each company's choice.

Mainland China's Labour Day break

Since 2025 mainland China has two statutory days for Labour Day, 1 and 2 May. The State Council joins them with a weekend and moves a working day to make a five-day break.

In 2026 the break runs from Friday 1 to Tuesday 5 May. In exchange, Saturday 9 May is a working day for offices that follow the national schedule. Japan has nothing like this: it never turns a weekend into a working day.

Early May 2026 side by side

Put the two calendars together and the shared working days shrink quickly. Japan is off on 29 April and 6 May while the mainland works; the mainland is off on 1 May while Japan works. From Monday 27 April to Friday 8 May, both sides are at work on only five days: 27, 28 and 30 April and 7 and 8 May.

Example: a five-working-day job

Suppose a Japanese partner and a mainland supplier both agree on Tuesday 28 April 2026 to deliver in five working days, counted from the next day. On Japan's calendar, 29 April and 2–6 May are off, so the fifth working day is Monday 11 May:

The same job in mainland China

On the mainland, 29 and 30 April are working days, the break takes 1 to 5 May, and work resumes on 6 May. The fifth working day is Friday 8 May, a full working day earlier than in Japan even though both countries had a holiday in between:

A promise of "one week" made in late April can therefore mean different dates on each side. Counting in working days on each calendar, rather than in calendar days, avoids the surprise.

September: Silver Week, then National Day

The same mismatch returns in autumn. In 2026 Respect for the Aged Day falls on Monday 21 September and the Autumnal Equinox on Wednesday 23 September, so Tuesday 22 September, sandwiched between two holidays, is also a holiday. With the weekend, Japan's government offices are off for five days in a row, from 19 to 23 September; this run is sometimes called Silver Week.

The mainland works through it, including a makeup Sunday on 20 September, then stops for the Mid-Autumn Festival on 25 September and the National Day break from 1 to 7 October, when Japan works. Over the four weeks from 14 September to 9 October, the two sides share only eleven working days:

Looking ahead to 2027

Japan's 2027 holidays are already published. Shōwa Day is Thursday 29 April; Friday 30 April is a normal working day; and Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day and Children's Day fall on Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 May, which with the weekend makes a five-day break from 1 to 5 May.

Mainland China's 2027 Labour Day break, set by the State Council's notice of 5 November 2026, is also Saturday 1 to Wednesday 5 May, with a makeup workday on Saturday 8 May. So in 2027 the two breaks are the same five days; the differences are Thursday 29 April, a holiday only in Japan, and Saturday 8 May, a working day only on the mainland.

Planning across both calendars

Tokyo is one hour ahead of Beijing all year, and neither changes its clocks, so on a day both sides work, a 09:00–18:00 day in each place gives eight shared hours. The hard part is the dates, not the hours:

• List both countries' days off for late April, early May, late September and early October at the start of the year.
• Count deadlines in working days on each side's calendar, not in calendar days.
• Expect mainland replies on makeup days such as Saturday 9 May 2026, and none from Japan on the same day.
• Ask Japanese partners whether they close on the working days inside Golden Week; the national holidays are fixed, company closures are not.

Questions

When is Golden Week in 2026?

Shōwa Day is Wednesday 29 April, and Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day and Children's Day are 3–5 May. Because 3 May is a Sunday, Wednesday 6 May is a substitute holiday, so government offices are off from 2 to 6 May.

Does Japan work on a Saturday to make up for Golden Week?

No. Japan never turns a weekend into a working day. Mainland China does: Saturday 9 May 2026 is a working day there after its Labour Day break.

Which days in early May 2026 do both countries work?

Of the twelve days from 27 April to 8 May, only five: 27, 28 and 30 April and 7 and 8 May.

Do Japanese companies close for the whole of Golden Week?

Some do and some don't. The national holidays are fixed, but whether a company also closes on the working days in between, such as 30 April and 1 May, is its own decision, so ask your counterpart.