Yahoo! Japan President Manabu Miyasaka announced at a recent press conference that the company would introduce a new system by the end of the current fiscal year which allows employees to take up to one year off from their jobs. The system, which is based on the concept of sabbaticals, allows employees to spend up to one year freely pursing whatever they desire, albeit without pay. Though fairly common in the West, offering such a system of leave is very rare for a Japanese company.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/