Statutory Holidays in Japan: Check the Day Type, Working Hours, and Holiday Pay
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Category: Work Styles
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
If Sunday work did not attract a 35% premium, or you were told that taking a day off afterward removes holiday pay, start with the assumptions. Which day was the statutory holiday? Was there an advance exchange of working and nonworking days? How many hours did you actually work?
This guide helps employees compare a roster with a payslip. Our separate weekly-holiday comparison guide covers recruitment wording and annual holiday counts.
A statutory holiday is the legally required day off
Article 35 of the Labour Standards Act provides for at least one holiday each week, or at least four holidays over four weeks. See the MHLW working-hours and holidays information.
The statutory holiday is not necessarily Sunday. Check the work rules, designated holidays, and actual arrangements. For a four-holidays-in-four-weeks arrangement, also check the four-week starting date. The ministry's holiday teaching material explains that framework.
Work on a statutory holiday generally requires procedures such as an Article 36 agreement and filing. Paying a premium does not authorize unlimited workdays.
Distinguish company holidays from nonstatutory holidays
A company-prescribed holiday is a day off established in work rules or similar arrangements. Identify which days serve as statutory holidays and which are additional, nonstatutory holidays. Some explanations use “prescribed holiday” to mean the additional days, so ask about actual dates rather than relying on terminology alone.
If Saturday and Sunday are days off and Sunday is designated as the statutory holiday, the statutory premium rules differ between them. A national public holiday does not automatically become a statutory holiday under the Labour Standards Act. See the MHLW Saturday/Sunday pay Q&A.
Check three items before comparing the payment
Item | Records to review | A question for payroll |
|---|---|---|
Type of day | Work rules, holiday calendar, roster | Was this treated as a statutory holiday? |
Actual working time | Clock records, work and break records | How many hours entered the calculation? |
Rate and wage basis | Pay rules and payslip | Which rate was applied to which hourly amount? |
Statutory-holiday work generally requires at least a 35% premium. Work on an additional company holiday requires the usual overtime premium, normally at least 25%, for hours qualifying as statutory overtime. Merely working on a scheduled day off does not make every hour subject to 35%.
Check any higher company rate too. For monthly pay, ask where ordinary wages and the premium are included instead of relying only on a payslip line named “holiday allowance.” The ministry's employment-condition rules provide a reference.
Fictional example: Four hours with a ¥1,800 hourly basis
These examples assume an ordinary eight-hour-day, 40-hour-week system to which holiday rules apply, no nighttime work, no higher company rate, and no increase for overtime exceeding 60 hours in the month. The amounts include ordinary wages and the premium for those four hours. They are not necessarily the extra amount to add to an existing salary payment.
Circumstances | Calculation | Wages for the four hours |
|---|---|---|
Four hours on a statutory holiday | ¥1,800 × 1.35 × 4 | ¥9,720 |
Four hours on a nonstatutory holiday, all exceeding the weekly 40-hour threshold | ¥1,800 × 1.25 × 4 | ¥9,000 |
Nonstatutory-holiday work raises the week from 32 to 36 hours, with each day within eight hours | ¥1,800 × 1.00 × 4 | ¥7,200 |
The last row illustrates no statutory overtime premium; it does not mean the work is unpaid. Modified working-hour systems, flextime, and exemptions require different checks against the actual arrangement.
Isolate hours that also fall at night
Where statutory-holiday work falls between 22:00 and 05:00, the nighttime premium of at least 25% adds to the holiday premium, making at least 60% in total. With the fictional ¥1,800 basis, one qualifying hour is ¥1,800 × 1.60 = ¥2,880.
Do not add another 25% merely because statutory-holiday work exceeds eight hours; distinguish that issue from the nighttime addition. See the Nagano Labour Bureau's 2026 handbook. When work crosses midnight, provide actual times and ask payroll to explain the day classification and time bands.
An advance exchange differs from a later compensatory day
An advance holiday substitution exchanges a designated holiday with a working day. When properly arranged, the original holiday becomes a working day and does not automatically attract the holiday-work premium. A compensatory day granted after statutory-holiday work does not erase the premium for the work already performed. See the MHLW substitution and compensatory-leave Q&A.
Even with an advance substitution, moving work between weeks can produce statutory overtime requiring a premium. The official employer Q&A explains this distinction. Record when the exchange was decided and which dates were exchanged.
A sample payroll question
“I would like to check the payment for [date]. The roster showed a day off, and I worked from [time] to [time] with [minutes] of breaks. Could you explain whether the day was statutory or nonstatutory, whether an advance substitution applied, and the wage basis, hours, and rate used?”
This is an editorial example. Align the records and calculation assumptions before asserting a particular shortfall. If the explanation remains unresolved, you can take the records to a public contact such as the Labour Standards Inspection Office.
For the working-hour basis, see our prescribed-hours calculation guide. For the broader framework, read Labour Standards Act basics.
Primary sources
Information checked on October 20, 2026. The calculation table and payroll inquiry are fictional editorial examples.
