Paid Leave Carry-Over and Expiry in Japan: Up to 40 Days, Gone After 2 Years

Paid leave expires after 2 years and carries over once

The right to request annual paid leave expires 2 years after the day it's granted (Article 115 of the Labor Standards Act). Days you couldn't use in the first year carry over to the second, but if you haven't used them by the end of the second year, they're gone. They can't be carried into a third year.

An April 2020 law change extended the period for claiming wages such as overtime pay to 5 years (3 years for the time being), but the expiry of annual paid leave stayed at 2 years.

So at any given moment, the paid leave you hold is always of two kinds: this year's grant and days carried over from last year. Carried-over days disappear the day before the next grant date.

The most you can hold

The upper limit is this year's grant plus last year's grant, if you used none of them. For someone with 6 years and 6 months or more of service who gets 20 days a year, the limit is 20 + 20 = 40 days.

Some companies offer accumulated leave, which banks expiring paid leave for long absences due to illness or injury. This is a company's own system rather than a legal requirement, so check your work rules.

Balance for someone who takes only 5 days a year

Here's how the balance changes for a 5-day-a-week worker hired April 1, 2018 who uses only 5 days each year. Days used come off the oldest (carried-over) days first.

As of September 24, 2026, 35 days remain, but 15 of them are carried over from last year and will expire on September 30. When 20 new days are granted on October 1, the balance is the 40-day limit. The gap between days granted and days used simply keeps expiring. Over these 8 years, 46 days have expired in total (at each changeover between years), and another 15 will expire on October 1.

Carried-over days or current days: which go first?

The law doesn't say whether taking leave reduces carried-over days or this year's days first. Unless the work rules specify otherwise, the usual treatment is that the older carried-over days are used first, which also favors the worker. But some companies set work rules saying this year's days go first.

For someone hired April 1, 2022 who used 5, 8, 10 and 7 days in successive years, the balance on September 24, 2026 differs as follows.

How to keep paid leave from expiring

How many days expire depends on the gap between days granted and days used. Someone with 6 years and 6 months or more of service who gets 20 days a year will lose the difference 2 years later unless they use all 20 each year. These habits help reduce what expires.

• Write down the day before your next grant date (when carried-over days expire) in your planner or calendar. The grant date follows from your hire date, so it's the same date each year
• Right after a grant, roughly plan which days you'll take that year. Days next to long weekends and in slow periods are easier to get
• In years with carried-over days, aim to use at least that many days by the day before the grant date
• If half-day leave is allowed, use it for appointments, paperwork and other errands too
• If you plan to leave or change jobs, plan your leave around your schedule up to your last day

Calculate carry-over and expiry with the tool

In the Paid Leave Days Calculator (Japan), open the Calculate remaining days & carry-over tab and enter your hire date and the days used each year (0.5 for a half day). It calculates a table of grants, carry-overs, expired days and balance by year, along with your current balance and the days that will expire on your next grant date. Switching the Order in which paid leave is used setting gives the same comparison as above.

To use up days about to expire in a planned way, it also helps to know about your company's obligation to ensure 5 days of leave a year. See the 5-day annual paid leave obligation, and if you're taking your leave all at once before leaving a job, see using paid leave before leaving.

FAQ

For how many years can paid leave be carried over?

Because it expires after 2 years, it can be carried over just once, into the next year. Days you didn't use in the year they were granted move to the next year, but they disappear unless you use them by the end of that year (the day before the grant after next).

Can my company buy back expired paid leave?

Your company has no obligation to do so. Buying back expired days or days above the legal minimum isn't illegal, so if the work rules provide for it, you may be able to receive payment.

Where can I check my paid leave balance?

Many companies show it on pay slips or in the attendance system. Companies are required to keep an annual paid leave record, so you can ask HR or general affairs if you're unsure. To check for yourself, you can calculate it from your hire date and the days used each year.

Does the 5-day annual requirement cover carried-over days?

When counting the 5 days, days taken from carried-over leave are included. But whether the requirement applies to you depends on whether 10 or more days were newly granted that year, and carried-over days aren't added for that test.