Japan: holidays and working days

How Japan's holidays work

• The national holidays are set by the Act on National Holidays: New Year's Day, Coming of Age Day, National Foundation Day, the Emperor's Birthday, the Vernal Equinox, Shōwa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day, Marine Day, Mountain Day, Respect for the Aged Day, the Autumnal Equinox, Sports Day, Culture Day and Labour Thanksgiving Day.
• Four of them always fall on a Monday: Coming of Age Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day and Sports Day. The two equinox days depend on astronomy and are fixed a year ahead.
• When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the next weekday that is not a holiday becomes a substitute holiday (振替休日). A day between two holidays is also a holiday (国民の休日), which is why Tuesday 22 September 2026 is off.
• Under the Act on Holidays of Administrative Organs, government offices close on weekends, on national holidays and from 29 December to 3 January. The year-end days are not national holidays, but many companies close around then too, each on its own dates.

Source: Cabinet Office, national holidays

2027 holidays for government offices

242 working days in the government office calendar.

Source: 内閣府：国民の祝日について（syukujitsu.csv） · list updated 2026-02-02 · checked 2026-10-03

2026 holidays for government offices

240 working days in the government office calendar.

Source: 内閣府：国民の祝日について（syukujitsu.csv） · list updated 2026-02-02 · checked 2026-10-03

Days that differ from mainland China

Japan and mainland China share New Year's Day and, in most years, part of early May, when Japan's Golden Week overlaps the mainland's Labour Day break. Japan does not mark the Lunar New Year, so it works through Spring Festival, and it works during the mainland's National Day week; the mainland works on Japan's other holidays and through its year-end closure. The table lists every date on which one side works and the other does not.

In 2027 both sides work on the same 229 days. On 32 other days only one side is at work: 19 when mainland China works and Japan does not, 13 the other way round.

Weekends both sides take off are left out. Computed from the two official calendars on this site.

Planning work between Japan and China

• Tokyo is one hour ahead of Beijing all year (UTC+9, with no daylight saving time). With a 09:00–18:00 day on both sides you share eight hours: 09:00–17:00 in Beijing, 10:00–18:00 in Tokyo.
• Golden Week (29 April and 3–5 May, plus any substitute day) and the mainland's Labour Day break overlap but don't match. In 2026 Japan works on 1 May, when the mainland is off, and is off on 6 May, when the mainland works.
• Japan works through Spring Festival and the mainland's National Day week, so hand work over before those breaks rather than during them.
• Japanese government offices, and many companies, close from 29 December to 3 January, while mainland offices work until New Year's Day; Spring Festival follows a few weeks later. Plan January and February on both sides together.
• Obon, in mid-August, is not a national holiday, but some companies close for a few days around it. Mountain Day on 11 August is the only national holiday that week.

What these dates don't cover

• Company calendars. Private employers set their own year-end and summer closures, and some work on Saturdays.
• Schools and round-the-clock services, which keep their own schedules.
• Holidays moved by special law for one-off events, as has happened before; we update the calendar when the Cabinet Office does.

Questions

What is Golden Week?

The run of holidays from Shōwa Day on 29 April to Children's Day on 5 May. With weekends and substitute days it often makes a break of several days; whether the days in between are worked depends on the employer.

Why is 22 September 2026 a holiday?

It falls between Respect for the Aged Day on Monday 21 September and the Autumnal Equinox on Wednesday 23 September, and a day between two national holidays is itself a holiday.

Does Japan have makeup workdays like mainland China?

No. Holidays are added to the calendar and never paid back by working on a weekend.

Are offices closed between Christmas and New Year?

Christmas is not a holiday in Japan. Government offices close from 29 December to 3 January, and many companies have a similar year-end break.