When working with Japan, it is always useful to know when your colleagues will be out of office.
The country has a total of 16 public holidays in a year compared to 10 holidays in Europe and the US on average.
In that sense, the higher number in Japan is a viable way to ensure that Japanese employees take some time off during the year. Traditionally, Japanese would not take individual long vacations outside public holidays as it would be seen as “leaving all the work to my colleagues while I am out enjoying myself”…
So, here is a shortlist of the most important Japanese holidays to mark in your calendar!
(Here is another JCO article about typical office events in the Japanese company calendar).
January 1st: New Year (元日, Ganjitsu):
It is probably the most important holiday and it celebrates the new year coming. A lot of companies tend to designate the week from December 29 to January 3 as a company holiday.
The phrase you should use until January 15th is “Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu” (Happy New Year).
Between April 29th and May 5th: The golden week (ゴールデンウィーク):
The Golden Week contains 4 public holidays: Japanese people often take the whole week off and take this opportunity to travel domestically or internationally.
Mid-August: Obon festival (お盆):
This is an annual Japanese holiday that commemorates and remembers deceased ancestors. Many people go back to their hometowns and visit graves during this period. It’s celebrated from August 13th to 15th in most of Japan.
Now you know the most important dates on which your Japanese colleagues and clients might be out of the office and a department might not be fully operational.
It is recommended that you ask in advance on which days their department might not be available to anticipate and plan which proactively shows respect for your counterpart’s schedule.
