Full-time employees in Japan do not automatically receive 20 days of paid leave from the beginning.
Under Japanese labor law, an employee generally becomes entitled to 10 days of annual paid leave after working continuously for six months, as long as they have attended at least 80% of their scheduled working days.
The number of days then increases with length of service:
- After 6 months: 10 days
- After 1 year and 6 months: 11 days
- After 2 years and 6 months: 12 days
- After 3 years and 6 months: 14 days
- After 4 years and 6 months: 16 days
- After 5 years and 6 months: 18 days
- After 6 years and 6 months: 20 days
So for a typical full-time employee, the easiest way to remember the system is that paid leave starts at 10 days and gradually increases to 20 days after six and a half years of service.
These are the minimum standards required by law.
Some companies give paid leave from the day an employee joins, while others provide more days than the legal minimum. The exact system can therefore vary depending on the employer.
Another number that often causes confusion is five days.
This does not mean that employees receive only five days of paid leave.
For employees who are entitled to at least 10 days of annual paid leave, employers must make sure that at least five days are actually taken each year. Days that employees choose to take themselves can count toward those five days.
Paid leave is also not limited to full-time employees.
Part-time and other eligible workers can also qualify for annual paid leave if they meet the required conditions. If they work fewer days per week, the number of paid-leave days may be calculated proportionally.
So there is no single answer such as “Japanese employees get 20 days of paid leave every year.”
For a typical full-time employee, the legal entitlement starts at 10 days after six months of employment and rises with length of service until it reaches 20 days after six and a half years.
References
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “What Is Annual Paid Leave?”
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Rules on Working Conditions and Workplace Environment”
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Annual Paid Leave Promotion Website”
- Labor Standards Act, Article 39
