Annual working hours per person employed in Japan
Japan: Annual working hours per person employed was 1,713 Hours in 2016. ▼ Falling
Annual working hours per person employed in Japan, 1970–2016
Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Hours.
Analysis
In 2016, annual working hours per person employed in Japan stood at 1,713 Hours. That is the lowest value across all 47 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual working hours per person employed in Japan peaked at 2,243 Hours in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1,713 Hours, in 2016.
That places Japan 22nd out of 37 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2,167 Hours | 2,112 Hours | 2,243 Hours | 10 |
| 1980s | 2,098 Hours | 2,070 Hours | 2,121 Hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,909 Hours | 1,810 Hours | 2,031 Hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,784 Hours | 1,714 Hours | 1,821 Hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,729 Hours | 1,713 Hours | 1,745 Hours | 7 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More work & labour data for Japan
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 51.2% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 78.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 55.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 63.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 52.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 77.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 82.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual working hours per person employed in Japan?
- Annual working hours per person employed in Japan was 1,713 Hours in 2016, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 2,243 Hours in 1970.
- What is the lowest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,713 Hours in 2016.
- How does Japan rank for annual working hours per person employed?
- Japan ranks 22nd out of 37 countries with data for 2016.
- Is annual working hours per person employed rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual working hours per person employed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Regular hours worked by full-time and part-time workers, paid and unpaid overtime, hours worked in additional jobs, and time not worked because of public holidays, annual paid leave, strikes and labour disputes, and other reasons.