Japan, an island nation in East Asia, is an archipelago of 6,852 islands in the Pacific Ocean that stretch for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in a northeast-southwest arc. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to south these are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
The country is a constitutional monarchy. Japan has a large and, to a great extent, ethnically homogeneous and heavily concentrated population in the low-lying areas along the Pacific coast of Honshu. More than 99% of the population speaks Japanese. A heavy emphasis is placed on education, and Japan is one of the world’s most literate countries. The economy of Japan is the third-largest in the world after the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Japan.
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Japan, an island nation in East Asia, is an archipelago of 6,852 islands in the Pacific Ocean that stretch for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in a northeast-southwest arc. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to south these are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
The country is a constitutional monarchy. Japan has a large and, to a great extent, ethnically homogeneous and heavily concentrated population in the low-lying areas along the Pacific coast of Honshu. More than 99% of the population speaks Japanese. A heavy emphasis is placed on education, and Japan is one of the world’s most literate countries. The economy of Japan is the third-largest in the world after the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Japan.
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2025.
| January 1 | New Year’s Day | |
| January 13 | Coming of Age Day | Movable - The second Monday of January |
| February 11 | National Foundation Day | |
| February 24 | Emperor's Birthday | In lieu |
| March 20 | Vernal Equinox Day | Movable - The date of the Northward equinox in Japan Standard Time |
| April 29 | Shōwa Day | |
| May 3 | Constitution Memorial Day | |
| May 5 | Children’s Day | |
| May 6 | Greenery Day | In lieu |
| July 21 | Marine Day | Movable - The third Monday in July |
| August 11 | Mountain Day | |
| September 15 | Respect for the Aged Day | Movable - The third Monday of September |
| September 23 | Autumnal Equinox Day | Movable - The date of Southward equinox in Japan Standard Time |
| October 13 | Sports Day | Movable - The second Monday in October |
| November 3 | Culture Day | |
| November 24 | Labor Thanksgiving Day | In lieu |
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Japan is 14 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
Social Insurance consists of:
An overview of the required contributions is presented below:
| Category | Employer Contribution | Employee Contribution | Maximum Premium |
| Health insurance | 5% | 5% | JPY 1,390,000 |
| Welfare pension insurance | 9.15% | 9.15% | JPY 650,000 |
| Employment insurance | 0.9% | 0.55% | No limit |
| Workmen’s accident compensation insurance |
|
– | No limit |
| Family allowances | 0.36% | 0.36% | JPY 650,000 |
| Long Term Care Insurance | 0.91% | 0.91% | JPY 1,390,000 |
| Business Facility Tax or Establishment Tax*** | 0.25% | – |
*Maximum per year as of 2018.
**Depends on the type of business. 0.002% is added to the above premium to fund benefits for asbestos-induced diseases.
**** Those aged between 40 and 64 (the second insured persons under long-term care insurance) are charged a nationwide uniform long-term care insurance premium rate of 1.82%.
****Business Facility Tax or Establishment Tax only applies to employers with 100 employees or more.
Employers must not have workers working more than eight hours per day for each day of the week, or 40 hours per week, excluding break periods. An employer should provide workers with at least 45 minutes of rest periods during working hours when working hours exceed six hours, and at least one hour when working hours exceed eight hours.
If an employee is expected to work overtime on a regular basis, there must be a written agreement and it has to be filed with the Labor Inspection Office.
Employees cannot be required to perform overtime exceeding 45 hours per month or 360 hours per year. In special circumstances such as unexpected orders, employers are allowed to cross the basic limit rule. However, overtime hours on statutory holidays (such as Sundays) cannot exceed 100 hours per month. The yearly extended limit rule lies at 720 hours per year.
When employees work overtime or work on holidays, an additional payment to the hourly base salary applies:
There is no mention of the probationary period in the employment law. Probation periods are, however, common in Japan and normally range from three to six months, and should not exceed one year.
If an employer wishes to dismiss a worker, the employer must provide at least 30 days advance notice. An employer not giving 30 days’ advance notice must pay the worker the average wage they would earn while working for a period of at least 30 days.
The provision of a month’s advance notice of dismissal does not apply to a worker falling under one of the following items:
Employers must not have workers working more than eight hours per day for each day of the week, or 40 hours per week, excluding break periods. An employer should provide workers with at least 45 minutes of rest periods during working hours when working hours exceed six hours, and at least one hour when working hours exceed eight hours.
If an employee is expected to work overtime on a regular basis, there must be a written agreement and it has to be filed with the Labor Inspection Office.
Employees cannot be required to perform overtime exceeding 45 hours per month or 360 hours per year. In special circumstances such as unexpected orders, employers are allowed to cross the basic limit rule. However, overtime hours on statutory holidays (such as Sundays) cannot exceed 100 hours per month. The yearly extended limit rule lies at 720 hours per year.
When employees work overtime or work on holidays, an additional payment to the hourly base salary applies:
There is no mention of the probationary period in the employment law. Probation periods are, however, common in Japan and normally range from three to six months, and should not exceed one year.
If an employer wishes to dismiss a worker, the employer must provide at least 30 days advance notice. An employer not giving 30 days’ advance notice must pay the worker the average wage they would earn while working for a period of at least 30 days.
The provision of a month’s advance notice of dismissal does not apply to a worker falling under one of the following items:
Social Insurance consists of:
An overview of the required contributions is presented below:
| Category | Employer Contribution | Employee Contribution | Maximum Premium |
| Health insurance | 5% | 5% | JPY 1,390,000 |
| Welfare pension insurance | 9.15% | 9.15% | JPY 650,000 |
| Employment insurance | 0.9% | 0.55% | No limit |
| Workmen’s accident compensation insurance |
|
– | No limit |
| Family allowances | 0.36% | 0.36% | JPY 650,000 |
| Long Term Care Insurance | 0.91% | 0.91% | JPY 1,390,000 |
| Business Facility Tax or Establishment Tax*** | 0.25% | – |
*Maximum per year as of 2018.
**Depends on the type of business. 0.002% is added to the above premium to fund benefits for asbestos-induced diseases.
**** Those aged between 40 and 64 (the second insured persons under long-term care insurance) are charged a nationwide uniform long-term care insurance premium rate of 1.82%.
****Business Facility Tax or Establishment Tax only applies to employers with 100 employees or more.
