Long usual weekly working hours — Employment in Japan

Japan: Long usual weekly working hours — Employment was 9,090 Persons in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
9,090 Persons
Change on year
down 5.1%
World rank
6th
of 40 countries
All-time high
18,120 Persons
in 2004
All-time low
9,090 Persons
in 2025
Years of data
24
2002–2025

Long usual weekly working hours — Employment in Japan, 2002–2025

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k2002201320252002: 18.0k Persons2003: 18.0k Persons2004: 18.1k Persons2005: 17.8k Persons2006: 17.0k Persons2007: 16.2k Persons2008: 15.8k Persons2009: 14.4k Persons2010: 14.5k Persons2011: 13.8k Persons2012: 14.2k Persons2013: 13.7k Persons2014: 13.5k Persons2015: 13.3k Persons2016: 12.9k Persons2017: 13.5k Persons2018: 12.7k Persons2019: 12.3k Persons2020: 10.0k Persons2021: 10.1k Persons2022: 10.2k Persons2023: 10.3k Persons2024: 9.6k Persons2025: 9.1k Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

Japan recorded 9,090 Persons for long usual weekly working hours — employment in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.

That represents a change of down 5.1% on the previous year and down 31.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, long usual weekly working hours — employment in Japan peaked at 18,120 Persons in 2004 and was at its lowest, 9,090 Persons, in 2025.

That places Japan 6th out of 40 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 16,910 Persons 14,400 Persons 18,120 Persons 8
2010s 13,417 Persons 12,270 Persons 14,480 Persons 10
2020s 9,878 Persons 9,090 Persons 10,280 Persons 6

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 3 Indonesia 27,418 Persons compare
  2. 4 Mexico 14,632 Persons compare
  3. 5 Brazil 10,154 Persons compare
  4. 7 Colombia 4,894 Persons compare
  5. 8 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3,387 Persons compare
  6. 9 South Africa 3,005 Persons compare

See the full ranking of 56 places →

More work & labour data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is long usual weekly working hours — employment in Japan?
Long usual weekly working hours — employment in Japan was 9,090 Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest long usual weekly working hours — employment recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 18,120 Persons in 2004.
What is the lowest long usual weekly working hours — employment recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 9,090 Persons in 2025.
How does Japan rank for long usual weekly working hours — employment?
Japan ranks 6th out of 40 countries with data for 2025.
Is long usual weekly working hours — employment rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 31.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Long usual weekly working hours — Employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Long usual weekly working hours — Employment in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/long-usual-weekly-working-hours-employment/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Long usual weekly working hours — Employment
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
56 places, 1,768 data points, 1976–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains data on employment by long hour bands (50 and over, 60 and over) for usual weekly hours worked in the main job. Actual hours of work instead of usual hours of work are only available in some countries (Japan and Korea). Data are broken down by professional status - employees, total employment - by sex and age groups. Detailed notes and sources can be found in LFS_NOTES_SOURCES. In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation. Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates.