Should you state your marital status in Japan?

In practice: Common - marital status typically included on rirekisho

Should you state your sex or gender in Japan?

In practice: Common - gender typically included on rirekisho

Resume rules in Japan

Q: Should you put a photo on your CV in Japan?

In practice: Expected - professional photo (passport-style, 3cm x 4cm) mandatory, taken within 3 months, formal business attire, written name and DOB on back before gluing What the law says: No specific law; employer convention based on tradition

Q: Should you include your date of birth in Japan?

In practice: Expected - Date of birth required on rirekisho (年月日 format) along with age

Q: Should you state your nationality in Japan?

In practice: Expected - helps assess visa eligibility and work authorization status

What employers in Japan expect on a 履歴書 (rirekisho) or 職務経歴書 (shokumu keirekisho), what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.

Call it a CV for Japan, a resume for Japan, or 履歴書 (rirekisho): it's the same document.

This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.

Law and practice, side by side

The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.

Photo: Expected

Expected - professional photo (passport-style, 3cm x 4cm) mandatory, taken within 3 months, formal business attire, written name and DOB on back before gluing

What the law says: No specific law; employer convention based on tradition

Date of birth: Expected

Expected - Date of birth required on rirekisho (年月日 format) along with age

Marital status: Common

Common - marital status typically included on rirekisho

Sex or gender: Common

Common - gender typically included on rirekisho

Nationality: Expected

Expected - helps assess visa eligibility and work authorization status

National ID number: Not found

Not found

The rest of the entry

Local name of the document: 履歴書 (rirekisho) or 職務経歴書 (shokumu keirekisho)
Language to submit in: Japanese; English for international companies
Typical length: 1-2 pages; JIS standard form
Address detail expected: Full address typically included
Signature and date: Yes - handwritten signature and date expected on rirekisho
Officially prescribed form: JIS rirekisho (Japanese Industrial Standards form) - standardized format widely required by Japanese companies
Other customary attachments: Education history and work history in strict chronological order
Local language source: Japanese

Where this came from

Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.

Notes: Rirekisho is standardized form still widely required by Japanese companies despite growing use of English CVs in international roles. No legal prohibition found for photo/DOB/age; these are employer convention based on tradition.

Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this