How to Say You Are Leaving a Job in Japanese: Resignation and Farewell Phrases
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Category: Job Search Preparation & Interview Tips
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
To say clearly and politely that you are leaving a company in Japanese, 退職いたします (taishoku itashimasu) is a concise option. Separate considering resignation, giving a definite notice and announcing a confirmed date. Politeness does not require weakening a settled decision into “I am thinking about it” or implying that employer permission is always needed.
These are language and conversation examples for Japanese workplaces, not forms that automatically determine a legal end date. Check your contract type and the relevant communication procedure. Translate 退職 as leaving the company or resigning; use “retiring” where retirement is actually meant.
Match the wording to your stage
Stage | Japanese and romaji | Natural meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
Still considering | 今後の働き方について相談したいことがあります。 / Kongo no hatarakikata ni tsuite soudan shitai koto ga arimasu. | I would like to discuss my future working arrangements. | A discussion, not a final notice. |
Decision made; date being discussed | 退職の意思は固まっております。 / Taishoku no ishi wa katamatte orimasu. | I have made the decision to resign. | Then state your preferred date and the matters to discuss. |
Date confirmed | ○月○日付で退職いたします。 / [Date]-zuke de taishoku itashimasu. | I will be leaving the company on [date]. | A report of the confirmed date. |
退職を考えております means you are considering leaving and fits a genuinely unsettled decision. If you have decided, state that decision clearly and discuss timing and handover separately. This avoids confusion about what is settled.
Speak to your manager
Ask for time to talk privately, then state your position. The following examples use placeholders; distinguish a requested date from a confirmed one.
今後の勤務について、個別にお話しできる時間をいただけますでしょうか。
Could we arrange a private time to discuss my future employment?
退職の意思は固まっております。退職の希望日は○月○日です。
担当業務の引継ぎと、必要な手続きについて相談させてください。
I have decided to resign. My preferred leaving date is [date]. I would like to discuss the handover and necessary procedures.
If you have not changed your decision after a retention discussion, you can acknowledge what was said while repeating that your decision remains unchanged. If you are still considering options, use consultation language rather than a final-notice example.
Internal and external announcements
このたび、○月○日付で退職いたします。
担当していた△△業務は、□□さんへ引き継ぐ予定です。
I will be leaving the company on [date]. I plan to hand over [duties] to [person].
Describe a handover as planned if it is not confirmed. A final working day and the employment end date can differ, so identify the relevant date. Add a genuine thank-you if you want to; gratitude is not compulsory regardless of circumstances.
このたび、○月○日付で退職することとなりました。
今後のお問い合わせは、後任の□□へお願いいたします。
I will be leaving the company on [date]. Please direct future inquiries to [successor].
Before notifying clients, agree the timing, recipients and successor details internally. This is coordination of an external announcement, not a statement that every resignation needs employer permission. You need not include private reasons or your next employer.
Understand sasete itadaku and other alternatives
The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ explanation relates させていただく to permission and a benefit to the speaker, including the relevant sense of those conditions. It is not a phrase to add automatically for maximum politeness. 退職いたします is often the simpler report.
Phrase | Meaning or context | Caution |
|---|---|---|
退職いたします / taishoku itashimasu | I will leave the company | A clear polite report. |
退職させていただく / taishoku sasete itadaku | A deferential phrasing involving permission or benefit | Context-dependent; not a universal legal permission request. |
辞職・退任 / jishoku, tainin | Leaving a post or position | Leaving a position need not end employment. |
お暇をいただく / oitoma o itadaku | An indirect expression whose meaning depends on context | Avoid it when a clear employment decision must be communicated. |
Language and legal requirements are separate
The MHLW resignation guidance distinguishes ending employment by agreement from an employee’s unilateral resignation. For an indefinite contract, its general explanation is that employment ends two weeks after notice; employer permission is not a universal condition. Leaving a fixed-term contract before expiry has different conditions. Check the actual contract and circumstances rather than applying that rule to every case.
A polite example does not settle your individual procedure or date. The content of a notice matters, including whether it requests an agreed termination or communicates a definite resignation. Seek advice if the contract type, notice or date is disputed.
Keep reasons factual where they matter
You can omit detailed reasons from a farewell message. Formal separation reasons and public procedures are different. Do not replace employer pressure or harassment with “personal reasons” solely to sound polite. General labour consultation services offer free advice about workplace issues.
If asked in an interview, explain the relevant duties, facts behind the move and conditions you seek next. You do not need to turn health or working-condition problems into an invented positive story.
Before you communicate
- Identify whether the decision or the date is settled.
- Label a preferred date as a request.
- Confirm handover and external-announcement details.
- Keep keigo separate from legal permission.
- Distinguish a short farewell from factual procedural information.
Related guides
- Should You Change Jobs Early in Your Career in Japan? A Daini Shinsotsu Decision Guide (Japanese)
- Unemployment Benefits in Japan: Eligibility, Amounts and How to Apply in 2026 (Japanese)
- Retirement Pay in Japan: Survey Benchmarks, Deductions and Tax Examples (Japanese)
- Shōchi Itashimashita: Meaning, Politeness and Work Email Examples (Japanese)
The linked Otame4 guides are in Japanese.
