Japanese Office Documents

If you have ever worked in a Japanese company, you may have had the experience of being overwhelmed by any in-house documents that you have had to submit on different occasions. These documents include claiming expenses, notifying the office when you are going directly home after meeting with a client offsite, and when you are late for work.

These days many companies use software that allows you to submit all necessary information online. However, if you work in a company that still requires filling out paper documents, you will need to be able to understand the Japanese words on them.

In this article we will cover the major in-house notifications/documents that are used in a Japanese company.

Notification of Attendance - 勤怠届 (Kintai todoke)

The vocabulary below, relating to attendance, are commonly used in Japanese offices. To notify your company of your absence, a planned holiday, being late or that you are going home from your client's directly etc.

The document below is a standard Kintai-todoke (notification of attendance) which is used in a Japanese office. You can click the image below to view a PDF version.

Submitting Expenses

It is also important to know how to fill out a expense claim form. Common expenses that can be claimed are Travel Expenses and Entertainment Expenses (meals, drinks...). Sometimes a Ringisho (稟議書) must also be submitted. A Ringisho is a document that is need when a decision, plan, or money for a project requires approval.

Here are some common Japanese words related to expenses.

The documents below are examples of "Travel Expenses (Koutsūhi Seisansyo)" and "Expense Report (Keihi Seisansyo)". To view a PDF version of each file, please click the image.