Public holidays in Japan, 2026

How Japan public holidays work in 2026

Japan recognises sixteen kokumin no shukujitsu under the National Holidays Act of 1948, the highest count of any major economy. Several modern holidays were introduced under the Happy Monday system enacted in 1998 and extended in 2003, which moved Coming of Age Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day and Sports Day to a Monday to create three-day weekends. Golden Week clusters four holidays between 29 April and 5 May; Silver Week occasionally creates a similar cluster in September when the autumn equinox falls on a Wednesday. The Emperor's Birthday floats with the reigning emperor: it moved from 23 December to 23 February when Akihito abdicated in 2019.

Working days in Japan

Japanese law in article 35 of the Labour Standards Act requires at least one rest day per week or four per four-week period, with no statutory requirement that the rest day be a Sunday. Most office and government work runs Monday to Friday, but retail, manufacturing and small business commonly operate six-day weeks. The civil procedure code article 95 rolls deadlines falling on a Sunday or a kokumin no shukujitsu to the next working day; Saturdays are also excluded by judicial practice though not by statute. Bank settlement follows the Bank of Japan's Zengin system, which observes the full national list of sixteen.

For people planning cross-border meetings, the practical move is to overlay Japan's calendar with the calendars of the other countries on your team. A week that looks completely clear from your end might be a national holiday on theirs. The compare tool above pairs two country calendars and highlights the overlapping closures, so you can spot the weeks where almost no one is at their desk before you put a launch on the board.