Japan Publishes Number of Days for Workers’ Paid Leave After 6 Months on the Job
- Japan's Labour Law sets out the conditions workers must meet before they can access paid annual leave
- Article 39(1) ties eligibility to both the length of employment and a minimum attendance threshold
- Workers who qualify are entitled to 10 days of paid leave, which can be taken consecutively or spread across the year
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Japan's Labour Standards Act entitles employees to paid annual leave once they have worked for a single employer for at least six months and maintained a strong attendance record throughout that period.
Under Article 39(1) of the Japan Labour Law, a worker becomes eligible for 10 days of paid leave after six months of continuous employment, counting from their first day on the job.
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To qualify, the worker must also have shown up for at least 80 per cent of their scheduled working days during that period.
How the 10 days can be used
Once the conditions are met, the employer is required by law to grant the full 10 days. Workers are free to take these days all at once in a single block or spread them out over time, depending on their needs and work arrangements.
The law uses the phrase "consecutive or nonconsecutive working days," meaning neither the employer nor the employee is locked into one format. This flexibility allows workers to plan leave around personal commitments without being forced to exhaust all 10 days in one stretch.
What the law requires of employers
The obligation falls on the employer. Under Article 39(1), granting this leave is not discretionary; it is a legal duty once the worker has satisfied the six-month service requirement and the 80 per cent attendance condition. Employers in Japan are therefore bound to honour the entitlement regardless of business convenience.
The 80 per cent attendance threshold is calculated against the total number of working days in the qualifying period, not against a fixed calendar. This means the actual number of days a worker must have been present will vary depending on their contract and schedule.
Japan has historically had one of the lowest rates of paid leave uptake among developed economies, with many workers leaving a significant portion of their entitlement unused each year.
The statutory minimum set out in Article 39(1) represents the floor of what employees are legally guaranteed, with some employers offering additional leave beyond this baseline.
5-year work visa in Japan
Legit.ng earlier reported that Japan has published a comprehensive list of 19 job sectors where foreign nationals can qualify for a five-year work visa under its Specified Skilled Worker (i) programme, opening up significant employment opportunities for workers seeking to build a career in the country.
Source: Legit.ng
