If you’ve read our updated article on “National Holidays in Japan,” you may have noticed that one or two “Substitute Holidays” often appear on the public holiday list each year. However, if you compare multiple years, you’ll see that substitute holidays don’t show up every single time. So, what exactly is a substitute holiday? And why do Japan’s national holidays change from year to year?

In this article, we’ll explain what a Japanese substitute holiday is.

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What is a substitute holiday

First, let’s look at the substitute holidays from 2019 to 2021.

Source: Japan Cabinet Office – 「国民の祝日」について(About National Holidays)

If you take a closer look at the dates, you’ll notice that almost all substitute holidays fall on a Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and based on Japan’s holiday laws, when any of the 16 legally designated national holidays falls on a Sunday, the next available weekday that isn’t already a holiday becomes a “substitute holiday.” This is basically a day off in lieu. On their official website, the Ministry now refers to these simply as “holidays” instead of “substitute holidays.”

Now that you know this, can you guess why substitute holidays often fall on Mondays?

Substitute holidays during extended holiday periods

You might ask, if substitute holidays only apply to Mondays, then why was May 6, 2020 — a Wednesday — also a substitute holiday?

Originally, the law only considered single holidays overlapping with Sundays. But in late April to early May, Japan has a string of national holidays — May 3 (Constitution Day), May 4 (Greenery Day), and May 5 (Children’s Day). If May 3 or 4 falls on a Sunday, the next day is still a holiday — so under the old rules, you’d miss out on a substitute holiday entirely.

To fix this, an amendment to the national holiday law was passed on May 20, 2005, and took effect on January 1, 2007. Under the revised law, a substitute holiday is no longer limited to the very next day. Instead, it applies to the first available weekday that’s not already a holiday or a Sunday. So in 2020, when May 3 fell on a Sunday and May 4–5 were already national holidays, May 6 (Wednesday) became the substitute holiday.

Othello-style holidays

You may have noticed that April 30 and May 2, 2019, were marked as “special holidays.” These aren’t substitute holidays, so why were they designated as such?

This has to do with a 1985 amendment to the national holiday law, which introduced the concept of “sandwiched holidays.” If a regular weekday falls between two national holidays, that day becomes a holiday as well. Since this rule is reminiscent of the board game Othello — where a piece flanked by two others changes color — such holidays are nicknamed “Othello holidays.”

Interestingly, a similar concept exists in France, where they’re called “bridge holidays.”

In 2019, Japan experienced a major event — the abdication of the Emperor and the ascension of a new one. May 1 was designated a one-time national holiday for the new Emperor’s enthronement. Combining that with Othello and substitute holiday rules created a special 10-day Golden Week, from Saturday, April 27 to Monday, May 6.

Special cases of substitute holidays

All of the above scenarios are the most common types of substitute holidays, but there are some exceptions too:

When a holiday falls on Saturday

While many people enjoy weekends off, if a national holiday lands on a Saturday, there’s no substitute holiday provided. In other words, Saturday holidays are treated like regular holidays — no extra day off.

Two holidays overlapping

There’s no specific rule in place for when two holidays fall on the same day. Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence. In theory, the only real chance of overlap is between Respect for the Aged Day (observed on the third Monday of September) and the Autumnal Equinox, which varies each year and falls between September 21–23. According to calculations, the next time these two holidays would fall on the same day is the year 2876.

New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday

Even though Japan typically observes a year-end/New Year holiday from January 1 to January 3, if January 1 (New Year’s Day) falls on a Sunday, then January 2 becomes a substitute holiday. This ensures everyone still gets a full break.