Tenshoku Procedure: The Job-Change Sequence
The tenshoku procedure is the standard job-change sequence for employees in Japan: secure the next offer while still employed, resign with proper notice, use paid leave across the wind-down weeks, hand over, collect exit documents, and start the new role.12 Getting the order right protects both income continuity and the paperwork the next employer needs on day one.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Immigration Services Agency.
Overview
This article is for employees considering a move to a new employer inside Japan, on any work-permitting status.2 It covers the full sequence from job search to first day, plus the tax-and-pension transition that runs through the new payroll.34
The labor-law steps below apply identically nationwide; there is no ward or municipal variance.5 The visa-notification step is different: it applies only to mid- to long-term residents on statuses tied to an employer, not to permanent residents or spouse holders.67
Secure the Offer Before You Resign
Line up the next role before telling the current employer anything. Searching while employed takes longer and needs evening or leave-day interviews, but it keeps salary continuous and avoids the unemployment-benefit track altogether.28
The chart above shows the recommended order at a glance; each step below fills in the detail with its citation.21
Interview while still employed
An employed search beats a resign-first search on two counts. Income continues without interruption, and bargaining position stays intact because there is no desperate start date.2
Quitting first means living on savings or on unemployment benefits, which start only after a 7-day waiting period with no payment and carry a further benefit restriction for voluntary resignation.28 Hello Work exists for exactly that gap, but a direct job-to-job move never needs it.8
Interview on personal time and keep applications off company equipment. Nothing in the sequence requires telling the current employer before the offer is accepted.2
Read your contract notice term before setting dates
Before setting any leaving date, read the resignation provisions in the work rules and contract.2 Most Japanese employers stipulate a notice term of about one month to allow handover and successor hiring.29
That company term sits on top of a statutory floor. For indefinite-term employment, the contract ends two weeks after the worker's notice under Civil Code Article 627(1), and a company-approval requirement for resignation has no legal force.19 A one-month company term is reasonable to honor for handover purposes, but it cannot legally block a two-week resignation asserted under Article 627.9
Submit the Resignation and Negotiate the Leaving Date
Tell the direct supervisor first in a private conversation, then put the resignation in writing with a clear date.10 A conversation alone leaves no record of when notice started, so the written paper with its submission date is what protects the timeline.910
退職届 vs 退職願: which paper to file
The 退職願 (taishoku negai, "resignation request") asks to resign and can be withdrawn before the employer accepts it.10 The 退職届 (taishoku todoke, "resignation notice") states a final decision and takes effect regardless of employer consent under Article 627.19
Use a todoke once the leaving date is agreed. The standard body states resignation for personal reasons with an effective date, plus the submission date, department and name with seal, and the company president as addressee.10
| Term | Japanese | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Resignation request | 退職願 (taishoku negai, "resignation request") | Withdrawable before acceptance10 |
| Resignation notice | 退職届 (taishoku todoke, "resignation notice") | Final; effective under Article 627 without consent19 |
| Standard reason line | 一身上の都合により (isshinjo no tsugo ni yori, "due to personal reasons") | No detailed reason required10 |
The contractual notice period and the statutory floor
For indefinite-term employment, termination takes effect two weeks after notice.19 Negotiate the actual leaving date with the employer anyway, since handover and successor hiring take real time and the official foreign-worker guidance advises talking the timing through thoroughly.2
| Contract type | Legal floor |
|---|---|
| Indefinite-term (no fixed term) | 2 weeks from notice (Civil Code Art. 627(1))19 |
| Fixed-term, first year of a 1+ year contract | Mid-term resignation only for unavoidable cause (Civil Code Art. 628), unless the contract allows more59 |
| Fixed-term, after the first year of a 1+ year contract | May retire at any time on notice (Labor Standards Act Art. 137)5 |
| Company work-rule term (common practice) | Often about 1 month; read the actual rules29 |
The table above covers the whole comparison in one place; the row that governs the reader's own contract is the one to plan around.159
Use Paid Leave and Complete the Handover
The wind-down weeks serve two purposes at once: rest before the new role, and a handover the successor can actually use.210 Schedule both deliberately rather than letting the last week collapse into chaos.
Schedule accumulated leave across the notice weeks
Annual paid leave accrues under Labor Standards Act Article 39: 10 working days after 6 months of continuous service with at least 80 percent attendance, rising with tenure to a 20-day maximum.5 Unused days carry into the next year only and lapse after two years.5
Taking accrued days during the notice period is normal practice. The employer may ask to shift timing where the requested dates would impede normal operations, but cannot simply refuse leave outright.510 There is no general right to cash out unused leave at exit, practitioner sources describe payout as company policy rather than statute, so the practical move is to schedule remaining days before the last day.10
Write handover documentation your successor can use
Employers need real time to reassign work and find a successor, which is why the official guidance frames timing as a negotiation rather than a demand.2 A usable handover covers active tasks with deadlines, key internal and external contacts, file and credential locations, and the offboarding steps agreed with the supervisor.10
The 引継ぎ (hikitsugi, "work handover") is professional courtesy with practical force: it is what the former team remembers, and it closes the door cleanly behind the move.10
Collect Exit Documents and Start the New Role
Collect every paper before the last day. Re-requesting from a former office after exit is slower than picking the stack up while still badged in.511
Documents to collect on the way out
On request at retirement, the employer must deliver without delay a certificate stating the employment period, occupation type, position, wages, or reason for retirement, and may include only items the worker requested.5 That statutory paper is the 退職証明書 (taishoku shomeisho, "certificate of separation").5
The 在職証明書 (zaishoku shomeisho, "certificate of current employment") is its still-employed sibling, used for visa or onboarding proof while in post; collect or request whichever the next step actually asks for, since they differ in timing even though both prove employment facts.10
| Document | Issuer | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 退職証明書 (taishoku shomeisho, "certificate of separation") | Former employer, on request | Proof of period, duties, wages, reason5 |
| 離職票 (rishokuhyo, "separation notice") 1 and 2 | Via Hello Work through former employer | Unemployment-benefit claim, only if there is a gap or claim118 |
| 雇用保険被保険者証 (koyo hoken hihokenshasho, "employment-insurance insured-person certificate") | Via Hello Work and former employer | Continuity of the lifelong insured-person number at the new job28 |
| 源泉徴収票 (gensen choshu hyo, "withholding tax slip") | Former employer | New employer's year-end adjustment412 |
| 年金手帳 (nenkin techo, "pension handbook") or 基礎年金番号通知書 (kiso nenkin bango tsuchisho, "Basic Pension Number Notice") | Japan Pension Service | Pension-record continuity; handbook for pre-April-2022 enrollees stays valid, newer enrollees hold the Notice3 |
| 健康保険資格喪失証明書 (kenko hoken shikaku soshitsu shomeisho, "certificate of loss of health-insurance eligibility") | Former employer's insurer | Health-insurance transition10 |
The table above is the full exit checklist; confirm each row is in hand before the last day, since the separation notice flows through the former employer via Hello Work and a missing paper means chasing a former office.118
The tax-and-pension transition through the new payroll
The new employer handles most of the transition through payroll setup: enrollment in employees health insurance and employees pension continues under the same pension number.3 A direct job-to-job move generally needs no separate pension filing by the worker.
Income-tax reconciliation runs through the new employer's 年末調整 (nenmatsu chosei, "year-end adjustment") using the former employer's withholding slip, which is why that slip is handed over at onboarding.412 The adjustment settles national income tax only, never the separate local 住民税 (juminzei, "residence tax") on prior-year income.12
Withholding slips must reach the worker by January 31 of the following year, or within one month when leaving mid-year (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the National Tax Agency).12 A mid-year move changes the residence-tax collection channel between employer withholding and direct billing, so confirm which channel applies rather than assuming payroll covers everything.12
Good to know
Resigning before securing an offer invites an income gap
Quitting first trades a salary for the benefit-claim track. After the 7-day waiting period with no payment, a voluntary resignation carries a further benefit restriction of about one month before basic allowance starts under the April 2025 Employment Insurance revision (three months still applies to repeat voluntary resigners), per current Hello Work guidance.810 Lining up the next role before resigning avoids that structure entirely.
Leaving without collecting exit documents means chasing a former office
The Article 22 separation certificate issues only on request, so no request at exit means no paper.5 The separation notice travels from Hello Work through the former employer to the worker, which makes post-exit re-requests a multi-party chase.118 Collect the full checklist row by row before the last day.
The visa notification tied to the employer change runs on a 14-day clock
Mid- to long-term residents on contracting-organization statuses, including Engineer, Humanities, and International Services, must notify the Immigration Services Agency Commissioner within 14 days of the old contract ending and again within 14 days of the new contract starting.67 The three channels are the 24-hour e-Notification system with no supporting documents, in-person submission with the residence card, or mail to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau with the card copy and red "NOTIFICATION ENCLOSED" on the envelope.6
Filing the notice updates the immigration record only; it does not confirm the new duties fit the current status, so check status fit before the start date.67 Permanent residents and spouse holders sit outside the affiliation-notification lists, and Designated Activities cases turn on the individual designation.7
Fixed-term contracts follow a stricter exit rule than indefinite ones
A fixed-term worker inside the first year of a contract longer than one year may resign mid-term only for unavoidable cause under Civil Code Article 628, unless the contract itself allows more.59 After the first year, Labor Standards Act Article 137 permits retirement at any time on notice.5 Fixed-term readers should confirm which side of that line they stand on before assuming the two-week floor applies.
See also
- Where to Look: The Bilingual Job-Board Landscape
- The Japanese Resume: Rirekisho and Shokumukeirekisho
- Job-Hunting from Abroad vs. From Inside Japan
- The Lifetime-Employment Myth in Japan
- Notifying Immigration of the Employer Change
- Unemployment Benefits (Shitsugyo-Hoken)