The 16 national holidays

The Act on National Holidays (国民の祝日に関する法律) names 16 holidays and gives each one a date rule. Here they are in calendar order.

Two kinds of dates are not written as plain numbers in the Act. National Foundation Day is "a day set by Cabinet Order", and the Cabinet Order sets it at February 11. The two equinox holidays fall on the day of the equinox itself. The National Astronomical Observatory announces those dates, and the Cabinet Office says they appear in the official gazette every February for the following year. The spring one is March 20 in 2026 and March 21 in 2027. The autumn one can move between September 22 and 24.

The list has changed over the years. Mountain Day first applied in 2016, and Sports Day and the Emperor's Birthday took their present form in 2020.

Four holidays that move to Mondays

Four holidays are set as "the nth Monday" of a month, so each one makes a three-day weekend. The arrangement is often called the "Happy Monday" system. That name is not in the law, which only gives the date rules.

There was one exception. For the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, a special law moved Marine Day, Sports Day and Mountain Day in 2020 and 2021 only. Since then they have gone back to the dates above.

Substitute holidays

When a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next day that is not itself a national holiday becomes a day off. The law says it exactly: the closest following day that is not a national holiday. In Japanese this is called furikae kyūjitsu (振替休日).

Two recent examples, both listed by the Cabinet Office:

• In 2026, Constitution Memorial Day (May 3) falls on a Sunday. May 4 and May 5 are already holidays, so Wednesday, May 6 is the substitute holiday.
• In 2027, Vernal Equinox Day (March 21) falls on a Sunday, so Monday, March 22 is the substitute holiday.

The rule covers Sundays only. A holiday that lands on a Saturday does not get a substitute day.

The sandwiched day

A second rule adds a day off between two holidays. If a day is not a national holiday, and both the day before and the day after are national holidays, that day becomes a day off too. It is often called kokumin no kyūjitsu (国民の休日, "citizens' holiday").

The rule shows up in September, because Respect for the Aged Day (third Monday) and Autumnal Equinox Day (September 22 to 24) can end up with exactly one day between them. It happened in 2015, and it happens in 2026: September 21 is Respect for the Aged Day, September 22 is the sandwiched day off, and September 23 is Autumnal Equinox Day. With the weekend before it, that is five days off in a row, from Saturday, September 19 to Wednesday, September 23. The Cabinet Office describes this kind of day as one that appears irregularly, once every few years.

Golden Week, Silver Week and Obon

Several well-known breaks are nicknames, not legal terms. The law lists only the individual holidays.

• Golden Week is the cluster around April 29 (Shōwa Day), May 3 (Constitution Memorial Day), May 4 (Greenery Day) and May 5 (Children's Day). When a weekend lines up with them, the break can run for a week or more.
• Silver Week is the name people give to a run of days off in September, like the five-day break in 2026 described above.
• Obon is a mid-August season when many families visit their hometowns and ancestors' graves. It is not a national holiday. Many companies close for a few days around August 13 to 16, but that is each company's own policy, and the days differ.

To plan around these breaks, the Japan holidays 2027 planner shows which weekdays you need to take off to make the longest breaks.

What closes on holidays

The holiday laws apply to some places directly.

• Banks. The Banking Act says a bank's holidays are limited to Sundays and the days set by Cabinet Order. The Order lists national holidays (including substitute and sandwiched days), December 31 to January 3, and Saturdays. A bank can add other days with the Financial Services Agency's approval or notice, so check your branch. The same rule means a bank counter is normally open on a weekday on December 29 or 30.
• National government offices. Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and December 29 to January 3 are days off for national agencies under the Act on Holidays of Administrative Organs.
• City, ward and town offices. The Local Autonomy Act tells local governments to set their days off by ordinance: Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and some days at the end and start of the year. Most counters are closed on those days, though some offices open for certain services, so check the office's page.

Shops, restaurants, hotels and attractions decide their own days. Many are open on holidays and busy, and some close on a fixed weekday instead. Trains and buses often run on a weekend or holiday timetable, so check your operator before a trip.

When a deadline lands on a holiday

Two rules can push a deadline back by a day. The Civil Code (Article 142) says that when the last day of a period falls on a Sunday, a national holiday or another day off, the period ends the next day, if there is a custom of not doing business on that day. Separately, the Act on Holidays of Administrative Organs and the Local Autonomy Act move a deadline for a filing with a national agency or a local government to the next day when it lands on that body's day off. The deadline must be set as a period in a law or order, not as a time of day, and a law can say otherwise. If you have a filing due near a holiday, do not count on the extension. File earlier, or ask the office.

Frequently asked questions

Is Golden Week an official holiday period?

No. The Act on National Holidays lists only the individual holidays: April 29, May 3, May 4 and May 5. Golden Week is the name people use when they line up with a weekend.

Does a Saturday holiday get a substitute day?

No. The substitute rule applies only when a national holiday falls on a Sunday. A holiday on a Saturday is simply a Saturday.

Are banks open on December 29 and 30?

Usually yes, if the day is a weekday. The Cabinet Order lists December 31 to January 3 as bank holidays, not December 29 and 30. Individual banks may close on extra days, so check your branch.

Sources

• Act on National Holidays (国民の祝日に関する法律, in Japanese)
• Cabinet Office: About national holidays, with the 2026 and 2027 lists and examples of substitute and sandwiched days (in Japanese)
• Act on Holidays of Administrative Organs (行政機関の休日に関する法律, in Japanese)
• Banking Act, Article 15: bank holidays (in Japanese)
• Enforcement Order of the Banking Act, Article 5: holidays of bank offices (in Japanese)
• Local Autonomy Act, Article 4-2: holidays of local governments (in Japanese)
• Civil Code, Article 142: when the last day of a period is a day off (in Japanese)
• Nicknames such as Golden Week, Silver Week and Obon closures are customs, not legal terms.

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Last updated: 2026-10-04