Employing workers under 18 (high-school students): limits on night work, overtime and hazardous work, and the age certificate

Bottom line first: A worker under 18 (a minor) may not in principle be worked between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. (Article 61 of the Labor Standards Act), and overtime and holiday work under a Article 36 agreement, as well as variable working-hour systems, cannot be used for them (Article 60). They may not be assigned to hazardous or harmful work (Article 62), and a document proving their age must be kept at the workplace (Article 57).

What changes compared with an adult's shift when you employ someone under 18?

Minors (those under 18) are covered by an extra layer of protection set out together in Chapter VI of the Labor Standards Act (Articles 56 to 64). Dropping them straight into the same shift table as adults catches on the law in several places.

The main restrictions that apply to those under 18 are four.

Category	Basis	Content
Prohibition of night work	Article 61	In principle no work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Non-application of overtime/holiday work and variable working-hour systems	Article 60, paragraph 1	Overtime and holiday work under a Article 36 agreement, and the various variable working-hour systems, cannot be used
Prohibition of hazardous/harmful and underground work	Articles 62 and 63	Cannot be assigned to hazardous or harmful work prescribed by ordinance, or to underground work
Keeping an age-certificate	Article 57	Keep a family-register certificate proving the age at the workplace

Most high-school part-timers fall within "under 18". Rather than lumping them together as "a high-school student", the starting point is to check the exact age band. A child for whom the first 31 March after reaching 15 has not yet ended faces heavier limits still (see below).

Why can't they work at night (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.), and are there exceptions?

Because Article 61, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act provides that "an employer must not employ a person under 18 between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m." The aim is to protect minors, who are still developing physically and mentally, from night work. It is not a matter of simply paying the adult night-work premium; employing them at all in that band is prohibited.

The exceptions are listed exhaustively in the article. Because they are easy to misread, here they are.

Exception	Basis	Content
A male aged 16 or over on a shift system	Article 61, paragraph 1, proviso	Such a person is outside the night-work prohibition
Change of hours by the Minister	Article 61, paragraph 2	The hours may be changed to 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., limited by area or period
Permission for a shift-system business	Article 61, paragraph 3	With the administrative agency's permission, work until 10:30 p.m. and from 5:30 a.m. is allowed
Certain businesses and work	Article 61, paragraph 4	The first three paragraphs do not apply to emergency extensions under Article 33, paragraph 1, or to businesses in Appended Table 1 items 6 (agriculture and forestry), 7 (livestock and fisheries) and 13 (health services), or telephone-exchange work

The point to watch is that the "shift-system" exception is limited to males aged 16 or over. A person under 16, or a female, cannot be worked at night under this proviso even on a shift system. Putting a high-school student into a typical late-night restaurant or retail shift stops here, at Article 61. For the design of night-work premiums and deemed overtime themselves, see labor administration when opening a restaurant.

Can overtime, holiday work or variable working-hour systems be used for minors?

In principle, no. Article 60, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act provides that Articles 32-2 to 32-5 (the various variable working-hour systems), Article 36 (the labor-management agreement for overtime and holiday work), Article 40 (special provisions on working hours and breaks) and Article 41-2 (the high-level professional system) do not apply to those under 18.

So even if you have a Article 36 agreement, you cannot rely on it to make a minor work overtime or on holidays. The various variable working-hour systems—monthly, yearly, weekly, and flextime—also cannot in principle be used for minors. The basic position is to work minors within the statutory ceiling of 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. For the limits of a Article 36 agreement itself, see how far overtime can go under a Article 36 agreement.

There is, however, an exception for those aged 15 or over but under 18 in Article 60, paragraph 3. After the first 31 March following the 15th birthday has ended, they may be worked within the following ranges by the method of a variable working-hour system:

• where the weekly hours are within the Article 32, paragraph 1 ceiling (40 hours a week), extending another day up to 10 hours on condition that one day is shortened to 4 hours or less
• within 48 hours a week and 8 hours a day, by the method of a variable working-hour system such as Article 32-2 (monthly) or Article 32-4 (yearly)

This does not "widen the ceiling"; it lets you adjust the day-by-day distribution while leaving the 40-hour (or ordinance-set) total untouched. It does not unlock overtime itself.

What hazardous or harmful work is off-limits, and what age documents must be kept?

Article 62 of the Labor Standards Act prohibits assigning those under 18 to hazardous or harmful work. Paragraph 1 lists cleaning, oiling, inspecting or repairing dangerous parts of machinery or power-transmission equipment in motion, attaching or removing belts or ropes on machinery in motion, operating power-driven cranes, and the hazardous work and heavy-lifting work prescribed by ordinance. Paragraph 2 lists work handling toxic or potent drugs, toxic or deleterious substances or other harmful raw materials, or explosive, ignitable or flammable materials, and work in places that emit marked dust, harmful gas or radiation, or that are of high temperature or high pressure, or otherwise harmful to safety, health or welfare; paragraph 3 leaves the scope to a Ministry ordinance. That ordinance is the Ordinance on Labor Standards for Minors.

The limit on heavy-lifting work is set by Article 7 of that ordinance, divided by age, sex and whether the work is continuous.

Age band	Sex	Intermittent work (kg or more)	Continuous work (kg or more)
Under 16	Female	12	8
Under 16	Male	15	10
16 to under 18	Female	25	15
16 to under 18	Male	30	20

Work handling loads at or above the figures in the table is work they must not be assigned to. Separately, Article 8 of the ordinance lists specific kinds of restricted work (including fine distinctions such as slinging work for power-driven cranes, excluding assistant slinging work done by two or more people). Whether a given task falls within restricted work must ultimately be checked against the ordinance for each on-site task. For assignment at sites handling hazardous materials such as gas stations, see labor administration at gas stations. Underground work is wholly prohibited for those under 18 by Article 63.

Age documents are an easily forgotten duty too. Article 57, paragraph 1 requires the employer to keep at the workplace a family-register certificate proving the age of a person under 18. A certificate of items entered in the resident record is often said to suffice, but the structure of the provision is that the company keeps it rather than leaving it to the worker.

What extra limits apply when employing a child up to the end of the school year in which they turn 15?

Heavier limits apply. Article 56, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act provides that an employer must not employ a child until the first 31 March after the child reaches 15 has ended. In principle, a child before graduating junior high school cannot be worked.

By way of exception, Article 56, paragraph 2 provides that, for work in a business other than those in Appended Table 1 items 1 to 5 (manufacturing, mining, construction, transport, cargo handling) that is not harmful to the child's health or welfare and is light, a child aged 13 or over may be employed outside school hours with the administrative agency's permission, and that the same applies to a child under 13 in the business of film production or theatrical performance. Child performers fall here.

When employing such a child, the limits on working hours and night work are stricter than for other minors.

Item	Ordinary minor (after the 15-year school-year end, under 18)	Child (up to the 15-year school-year end)
Working hours	8 hours a day, 40 hours a week	7 hours a day, 40 hours a week counting school hours (Article 60, paragraph 2)
Night-work band	10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Article 61, paragraph 1)	8 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Article 61, paragraph 5; for child performers, for the time being 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.)
Documents kept	Family-register certificate proving age (Article 57, paragraph 1)	In addition, the school principal's certificate that it does not interfere with schooling, and the consent of the person with parental authority or the guardian (Article 57, paragraph 2)

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For child performers, the night band is set, for the time being, at 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. by Article 61, paragraph 5 and the related notification. Because employing a child presupposes permission from the administrative agency (the head of the competent Labor Standards Inspection Office), the practical order is to check first whether permission exists and on what conditions.

What happens if you breach the rules, and what to check before hiring?

The limits on night work, overtime, hazardous or harmful work and minimum age are all backed by penalties. Even where the minor was built into the shift unknowingly, the employer's responsibility may be questioned. Checking the following before employing a minor reduces accidents.

• The exact age, and whether the first 31 March after reaching 15 has passed
• Whether the family-register certificate proving age (for a child, also the principal's certificate and the consent of the person with parental authority) has been kept at the workplace
• Whether the shift contains the band from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.; if so, whether it really falls within the Article 61 exceptions
• Whether the assigned task falls within hazardous or harmful work or restricted work under Article 62 and the Ordinance on Labor Standards for Minors
• Whether minors can be excluded from Article 36 agreements and variable working-hour systems

Writing the treatment of minors into the work rules reduces hesitation in on-site shift design. For the obligation to prepare work rules itself, see from how many employees are work rules mandatory. The minimum wage of course applies to minors too; see the FY2026 minimum wage. Managing international-student part-timers subject to a residence-status time cap is a separate issue from age-based limits; see the 28-hour-a-week management of international-student part-timers. Where a dispute over individual discipline or dismissal arises, it is the lawyer's field, not the Shakai Hoken Roumushi's. For how to divide referrals, see when letting an employee go, which to rely on, a Shakai Hoken Roumushi or a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is it a problem to keep a high-school part-timer on for about 15 minutes past 10 p.m. for closing work?
A. If they are under 18, Article 61, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act means they cannot in principle be worked from 10 p.m. onwards. Even 15 minutes falls within "between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m." Unless it falls within an exception listed in the article—a male aged 16 or over on a shift system, or a shift-system business with the administrative agency's permission—you cannot keep them in that band even for closing work. The basic design is to place the shift's end time before 10 p.m.

Q. During a busy season, can we have high-school students work overtime within a Article 36 agreement?
A. No. Article 60, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act provides that Article 36 (the labor-management agreement for overtime and holiday work) does not apply to those under 18. Even with a Article 36 agreement, you cannot rely on it to make a minor work overtime or on holidays. For those past the 15-year school-year end there is room under paragraph 3 to adjust the day-by-day distribution of hours, but that presupposes leaving the weekly total untouched and is not an unlocking of overtime.

Q. If the worker says they are "18 or over", may we skip the document proving age?
A. No. Article 57, paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act makes it the employer's duty to keep at the workplace a family-register certificate proving the age of a person under 18. Self-declaration alone does not relieve you of responsibility for a restriction breach if it later turns out the worker was a minor. When employing a child up to the 15-year school-year end, you additionally need to keep the school principal's certificate and the consent of the person with parental authority or the guardian (paragraph 2).

Q. We want to have them carry heavy loads. Up to how many kilograms may a high-school student do?
A. Article 7 of the Ordinance on Labor Standards for Minors sets ceilings by age, sex and whether the work is continuous. For a male aged 16 to under 18 the figures are 30 kg for intermittent and 20 kg for continuous work; for a female, 25 kg and 15 kg. Work handling loads at or above these figures is off-limits. Under 16 is set lower. Which tasks count as restricted work must be checked against the ordinance for each on-site task, and the individual application is made by a qualified professional.

Basis for this article

• Labor Standards Act (Act No. 49 of 1947), Article 56, paragraph 1 — an employer must not employ a child until the first 31 March after the child reaches 15 has ended
• Article 56, paragraph 2 — for work in a business other than Appended Table 1 items 1 to 5 that is not harmful to the child's health or welfare and is light, a child aged 13 or over may be employed outside school hours with the administrative agency's permission, and the same applies to a child under 13 in film production or theatrical performance
• Article 57, paragraph 1 — the employer must keep at the workplace a family-register certificate proving the age of a person under 18; paragraph 2 — for a child, the school principal's certificate that schooling is not impaired and the consent of the person with parental authority or the guardian must also be kept
• Article 60, paragraph 1 — Articles 32-2 to 32-5, Article 36, Article 40 and Article 41-2 do not apply to those under 18; paragraph 2 — the working hours of a child employed under Article 56, paragraph 2 are 40 hours a week and 7 hours a day counting school hours; paragraph 3 — a person aged 15 (after the first 31 March following the birthday) to under 18 may be worked by extending another day up to 10 hours on condition one day is shortened to 4 hours or less, or within 48 hours a week and 8 hours a day by the method of a variable working-hour system
• Article 61, paragraph 1 — an employer must not employ a person under 18 between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., save for a male aged 16 or over on a shift system; paragraph 2 — the Minister may, where necessary, change the hours to 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., limited by area or period; paragraph 3 — a shift-system business may, with permission, work until 10:30 p.m. and from 5:30 a.m.; paragraph 4 — the first three paragraphs do not apply to emergency work under Article 33, paragraph 1, or to businesses in Appended Table 1 items 6, 7 and 13 or telephone-exchange work; paragraph 5 — for a child under Article 56, paragraph 2 the band is 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. (and 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the paragraph 2 hours)
• Article 62, paragraph 1 — prohibition of cleaning, oiling, inspecting or repairing dangerous parts of machinery in motion and similar work, operating power-driven cranes, and hazardous or heavy-lifting work prescribed by ordinance; paragraph 2 — prohibition of handling toxic or potent drugs, toxic or deleterious substances, explosive, ignitable or flammable materials, and work in places of marked dust, harmful gas, radiation, high temperature or high pressure; paragraph 3 — the scope is prescribed by Ministry ordinance
• Article 63 — an employer must not have a person under 18 work underground
• Ordinance on Labor Standards for Minors (Ministry of Labour Ordinance No. 13 of 1954), Article 7 — heavy-lifting limits: under 16, female 12 kg / male 15 kg (intermittent) and female 8 kg / male 10 kg (continuous); 16 to under 18, female 25 kg / male 30 kg (intermittent) and female 15 kg / male 20 kg (continuous); loads at or above each value are restricted. Article 8 — lists the kinds of restricted work for minors
• Provisions checked on e-Gov Law Search on 31 October 2026. The items of Appended Table 1 (item 6 agriculture and forestry, item 7 livestock and fisheries, item 13 health services) and the application of the notification on night work for children must be confirmed by business category for each site

This article does not determine whether any particular case qualifies. 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 can advise on shift design when employing minors and high-school students, incorporating a minors clause into the work rules, the system for keeping age documents, permission applications for night work in a shift-system business, and the approach to separating out hazardous or harmful work. Negotiation or litigation once a dispute over individual discipline or dismissal arises is not handled by this office; we refer you to a lawyer (Bengoshi). Where a different professional is needed, each is contracted separately, and there is no referral fee. Fees are set out in the fee schedule, and frequently asked questions are collected in the FAQ.

This article is general information. Individual determinations are made by a qualified professional after a consultation, in light of individual circumstances. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).