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Chicago vs Tokyo Time Difference
Chicago and Tokyo sit 14 to 15 hours apart, with almost no shared daytime — part of why Chicago's futures markets run their electronic platform nearly around the clock.
Chicago
America/Chicago
Tokyo
Asia/Tokyo
Calculating the live gap…
The exchange that never really closes
Chicago's futures and derivatives markets trace back to the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, but the modern answer to a 14-to-15-hour gap with Tokyo is electronic, not historical. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's Globex trading platform opens Sunday evening Chicago time and runs nearly around the clock through the trading week, specifically so that traders in Asian time zones — Tokyo included — can access Chicago-listed futures and derivatives contracts during their own normal daytime hours, despite the standard office day in each city falling on opposite sides of the clock.
No shared daytime, by a wide margin
At 14 to 15 hours apart, Chicago and Tokyo sit almost exactly opposite each other on the clock. Tokyo's entire workday happens while Chicago sleeps, and Chicago's entire workday happens while Tokyo sleeps, which is precisely the gap that makes an always-open electronic market like Globex valuable in the first place — it's the only way either side's traders can reach the other market during hours that work for them.
Best time to call, hour by hour
The table below runs through a full Chicago day and shows the matching Tokyo time for each hour. As with other very large gaps on this site, no row falls inside a shared 9:00-to-17:00 workday for both cities.
| Chicago time | Tokyo time | Both in business hours? |
|---|---|---|
| Calculating… | ||
No row is highlighted above — this pairing shares no standard business hours at all, which is exactly why Chicago's electronic futures markets stay open nearly around the clock rather than relying on a live overlap window.
How we calculate this page: both live clocks, the current gap, the DST transition dates, and the hour-by-hour overlap table are all computed directly from the IANA America/Chicago and Asia/Tokyo time zone data via your browser on every page load — nothing here is a fixed, hard-coded figure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between Chicago and Tokyo?
Fifteen hours during Chicago's winter (Central Standard Time) and fourteen hours during its summer (Central Daylight Time), with Tokyo ahead. As with other pairings this large, Tokyo is typically a full calendar day ahead of Chicago.
Does Tokyo observe daylight saving time?
No. Japan Standard Time has held at a fixed UTC+9 since 1886, aside from a brief experiment from 1948 to 1951, so Chicago is the only side of this pairing whose clock shifts.
Why does Chicago's CME Globex platform run almost 24 hours a day?
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's electronic trading platform, CME Globex, opens Sunday evening Chicago time and runs nearly continuously through Friday afternoon, specifically so that traders in Asian markets — including Tokyo — can access US futures and derivatives during their own daytime hours despite the roughly 14-to-15-hour gap.
Is there a normal-business-hours overlap between Chicago and Tokyo?
No. At 14 to 15 hours apart, Tokyo's workday falls in Chicago's overnight hours and vice versa, so there is no shared standard 9-to-5 window on either side.
What is the best time to schedule a call between Chicago and Tokyo?
Most teams settle for either a Chicago early morning or a Tokyo early morning, since neither city's normal workday overlaps with the other's at all.
How do I convert Chicago time to Tokyo time?
Add 14 hours (during Chicago's summer) or 15 hours (during its winter) to Chicago time, and expect the date to roll forward in most cases. For a guaranteed-accurate conversion, use the time zone converter on WatchTime Online.
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