How Japan's Public Holidays Are Set: Substitute Holidays, Citizens' Holidays and Happy Monday

Holidays are set by the Act on National Holidays

Japan's public holidays are set by the Act on National Holidays (the Public Holidays Act), which took effect in 1948. There are currently 16 holidays, and their dates are set in three ways.

• Fixed dates: 10 days: New Year's Day, National Foundation Day, the Emperor's Birthday, Shōwa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day, Mountain Day, Culture Day and Labor Thanksgiving Day.
• The nth Monday: 4 days: Coming of Age Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day and Sports Day. These are the so-called Happy Monday holidays.
• Astronomical calculation: 2 days: Vernal Equinox Day and Autumnal Equinox Day. They move between the 20th and 21st, and the 22nd and 23rd, depending on the year.

On top of these, substitute holidays under Article 3(2) of the Act and citizens' holidays under Article 3(3) occur as "days off". They aren't public holidays themselves, but they're treated the same as days off. So the annual number of days off isn't exactly 16 but varies from about 16 to 19 by year.

Public holidays in 2026 and 2027

The four Happy Monday holidays and the two equinox days change date every year. Seeing them side by side shows how they move.

In 2026, on top of these 16 days, 6 May (Wed) is a substitute holiday and 22 September (Tue) is a citizens' holiday, making 18 days off in total. In 2027, a substitute holiday on 22 March (Mon) is added, making 17.

The four holidays that move under Happy Monday

This system was introduced in stages from 2000 to move holidays to Mondays and create three-day weekends. It covers four holidays, each fixed as "the nth Monday of the month".

A 2nd Monday falls between the 8th and 14th, and a 3rd Monday between the 15th and 21st, depending on the year. Remembering them as "the nth Monday" is more reliable than remembering dates. Note that in 2020 and 2021, special measures for the Tokyo Olympics moved Marine Day, Mountain Day and Sports Day to other dates.

Substitute holidays and citizens' holidays

Article 3 of the Public Holidays Act also makes other days into days off besides the holidays themselves. These two are easy to miss when building a calendar yourself.

1. 1

   Substitute holiday (Article 3(2))

   When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the nearest following day that isn't a holiday becomes a day off. In a year when 3 May is a Sunday, 4 and 5 May are also holidays, so 6 May is the substitute holiday. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, there's no substitute.

2. 2

   Citizens' holiday (Article 3(3))

   A weekday with a holiday both the day before and the day after becomes a day off. This happens in years when there's exactly one day between Respect for the Aged Day (3rd Monday of September) and Autumnal Equinox Day, creating the so-called Silver Week.

No substitute holiday occurs when a holiday falls on a Saturday, so in years when many holidays land on Saturdays, the actual number of days off falls. How much the annual number of business days changes can be checked in Annual business days and scheduled working days.

When are the equinox holidays confirmed?

These are the only two holidays with no date written in the law. The Act only says "the vernal equinox day" and "the autumnal equinox day", and the actual date is the day containing the astronomical moment of the equinox.

• The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan calculates it, and it's published on 1 February of the previous year in the "calendar summary" (reki yōkō) of the Official Gazette. That's when it's formally confirmed.
• Dates for later years are calculated estimates. Approximation formulas match the actual dates over hundreds of years, but officially they're unconfirmed.
• Because Earth's orbital period isn't exactly 365 days, the date shifts back and forth with the leap-year cycle. How leap years work is covered in The rules for leap years.

When the Business Day Calculator calculates a year not yet confirmed in the Official Gazette, it shows on screen that it's using estimated values. When making an annual calendar several years ahead, remember that just these two days may change later.

Count days including holidays with the tool

The arrangement of holidays changes every year, so counting by hand always misses something. Choose a year in the Business Day Calculator's "Annual calendar" tab and you get a list of that year's days off, including substitute and citizens' holidays.

• A table shows calendar days, business days and days off for each month, with annual totals.
• The table can be copied as tab-separated text, so you can paste it straight into a spreadsheet.
• The "Business days in a period" tab shows, by name, which holidays fall within a given period and how many.
• You can switch to treating holidays as business days, so it also works for shops that open on holidays.

To count deadlines and due dates, see How to count business days; if you're curious about calendar days and the background of annual events, see also The meaning of the rokuyō.

FAQ

How many public holidays does Japan have a year?

There are 16 national holidays. But substitute holidays and citizens' holidays are added, so the actual number of days off varies by year. 2026 has 18 with one substitute holiday and one citizens' holiday, and 2027 has 17 with one substitute holiday. In years when holidays fall on Saturdays, no substitute holiday occurs, so there are fewer days off.

How are substitute holidays decided?

Under Article 3(2) of the Public Holidays Act, when a holiday falls on a Sunday, the nearest following day that isn't a holiday becomes a day off. In a year when 3 May is a Sunday, 4 May (Greenery Day) and 5 May (Children's Day) are also holidays, so 6 May is the substitute holiday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, there's no substitute, so that year effectively has one fewer day off.

What is a citizens' holiday?

It's a day off set by Article 3(3) of the Public Holidays Act, covering weekdays that have a holiday both the day before and the day after. Today this happens in years when there's exactly one day between Respect for the Aged Day (3rd Monday of September) and Autumnal Equinox Day, creating a five-day Silver Week. In 2026, 22 September (Tue) is such a day, making 19 to 23 September five days off.

When are holidays beyond next year confirmed?

Holidays with dates set by law and the four Happy Monday holidays can be determined by calculation for any year. Only Vernal and Autumnal Equinox Days are unconfirmed; they're published on 1 February of the previous year in the Official Gazette's calendar summary, based on the National Astronomical Observatory's calculations. Later years use estimates, so take care with just these two days when making a company calendar several years ahead.

Which holidays are Happy Monday holidays?

Four: Coming of Age Day (2nd Monday of January), Marine Day (3rd Monday of July), Respect for the Aged Day (3rd Monday of September) and Sports Day (2nd Monday of October). Coming of Age Day and Sports Day moved in 2000, and Marine Day and Respect for the Aged Day in 2003. They're set by "which Monday" rather than a date, so they move by up to almost a week depending on the year.