Topic: Year-End Bonus and the Thirteenth Salary
How does Japan mark Year-End Bonus and the Thirteenth Salary?
夏のボーナス(期末手当)
- Local date
- June 30, 2027
The sharpest difference between Japan and the other six is that the bonus comes twice a year: besides the winter payment there is a summer one on 30 June, under the same Act for public servants and mirrored by private employers. Having two changes the shape of a household's year — large purchases, travel and extra mortgage instalments are spread across midyear and year-end rather than concentrated in a single moment as in Brazil or Indonesia. The summer payment is usually a little smaller than the winter one, because the assessment period and the appraisal formula behind it differ.
冬のボーナス(期末手当)
- Local date
- December 10, 2026
Japan has no law requiring private employers to pay a bonus; it is custom and collective agreement. For public servants, though, it is in statute — the Act on Remuneration of Regular Service Personnel provides for the end-of-term and diligence allowances, with the winter payment made on 10 December. Private employers largely follow that rhythm, so early December becomes the national payday: the year-end retail campaigns, the o-seibo gift season and the extra instalment many people put on their mortgage all sit just after it. The size is usually stated in months of salary rather than in yen, and it is one of the items on the table in the spring wage round.
What is this topic?
Taiwan's year-end bonus rests on Article 29 of the Labor Standards Act, which applies only when the business closes its year with a surplus — a condition, with no deadline and no penalty, so the amount is the company's call. Brazil is the opposite: the thirteenth salary has been a statutory obligation since 1962, first instalment by 30 November and second by 20 December, with fines for lateness. Indonesia's THR must be paid in full seven days before the religious holiday, never in instalments, with a 5 per cent fine if late. The same idea — extra money once a year — runs from binding law to pure custom across the seven markets, and that is what decides whether anyone can rely on it.
Sources and dates
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