Japan has some of the most specific overtime law anywhere, and some of the widest gap between what the law says and what happens. Knowing the actual numbers is what turns "I think I am being overworked" into a conversation your employer has to take seriously.
The caps
Statutory working hours are 8 hours a day and 40 a week. Anything beyond requires a 36 Agreement (サブロク協定) — a labour-management agreement filed with the Labour Standards Inspection Office. Without one on file, overtime is not permitted at all.
With one, the ordinary ceiling is:
- 45 hours per month
- 360 hours per year
A special clause (特別条項) can be added for genuinely temporary surges. Even then, hard limits apply:
- Under 100 hours in any single month, including work on statutory holidays
- No more than 720 hours a year
- An average of no more than 80 hours a month across any 2 to 6 consecutive months
- The 45-hour level may be exceeded in no more than 6 months of the year
These are not guidelines. Breaching them exposes the employer to penalties.
What you should be paid
Premiums are on top of your base hourly rate, and they stack:
- Overtime beyond statutory hours: +25%
- Overtime beyond 60 hours in a month: +50%. The exemption that once spared small and medium employers has ended, so this applies regardless of company size
- Late-night work, 22:00 to 05:00: +25%, on top of any overtime premium
- Work on a statutory rest day: +35%
Overtime at night is therefore 150% of base, and past 60 hours in the month it is 175%. If your payslip shows a flat figure regardless of when the hours fell, that is worth questioning.
Fixed overtime is not a licence
Minashi zangyo (みなし残業) or kotei zangyo — fixed overtime — means your salary already includes payment for a set number of overtime hours, commonly 20 to 45. It is legal, and it is widely misrepresented.
What it actually requires:
- The contract must state how many hours are covered and how much of your pay represents them. "Salary includes overtime" with no figures does not satisfy this.
- Hours beyond the fixed allowance must be paid separately, at the premium rates above.
- The base pay, with the overtime component stripped out, must still meet minimum wage.
An employer treating fixed overtime as unlimited overtime is not applying an unusual policy. They are not paying you.
Who is genuinely exempt
Two exemptions get stretched:
Managerial position (管理監督者). Exempt from overtime and rest-day premiums — but the test is substantive, not the job title. It asks whether you have real authority over personnel and operations, discretion over your own hours, and pay reflecting the position. Japanese courts have repeatedly found "manager" titles handed out to avoid overtime pay to be invalid. A title alone does not remove the entitlement.
Discretionary work systems (裁量労働制). Available only for specified categories of work and requiring proper agreements. Late-night and rest-day premiums still apply.
If the numbers do not add up
- Record your own hours. Building entry logs, PC login times, emails, your own contemporaneous notes. Your record is evidence; memory is not.
- Ask HR for the 36 Agreement. It is filed and it tells you what your employer has actually committed to.
- Contact the Labour Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署) for the area where you work. Consultation is free and does not require a lawyer.
- Unpaid wage claims have a time limit and it runs from each payday, so acting sooner preserves more.
None of this requires you to leave your job, and raising it is not grounds for dismissal.
The phrases
- 残業代が正しく支払われていますか。 — Zangyōdai ga tadashiku shiharawarete imasu ka? — Is overtime being paid correctly?
- 三六協定を見せていただけますか。 — Sabu-roku kyōtei o misete itadakemasu ka? — May I see the 36 Agreement?
- 固定残業は何時間分ですか。 — Kotei zangyō wa nanjikan bun desu ka? — How many hours does the fixed overtime cover?
Where to confirm this
Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 21 August 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.