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Japanese Calendar & National Holidays

Japanese Calendar & National Holidays

1. Gengo (Name of an Era)

Japan uses Era names when referring to years. The year an Emperor ascends to the throne would be the first year of an era, and it continues until he passes away. Each era has a unique name (Gengo).
When you encounter a situation in which you have to write your year of birth using Gengo, refer to the table below. For example, 1985 is Showa 60 (S60), and 2011 is Heisei 23 (H23).

Year	Gengo
1968	Showa(S)	43
1969		44
1970		45
1971		46
1972		47
1973		48
1974		49
1975		50
1976		51
1977		52
1978		53
1979		54
1980		55
1981		56
1982		57

Year	Gengo
1983	Showa(S)	58
1984		59
1985		60
1986		61
1987		62
1988		63
1989	Heisei(H)	1
1990		2
1991		3
1992		4
1993		5
1994		6
1995		7
1996		8
1997		9

Year	Gengo
1998	Heisei(H)	10
1999		11
2000		12
2001		13
2002		14
2003		15
2004		16
2005		17
2006		18
2007		19
2008		20
2009		21
2010		22
2011		23
2012		24

2. National holidays

Many schools and public offices are closed on national holidays.

Date	Holiday
Jan.1	New Year’s Day
Second Monday of Jan.	Coming-of-Age Day
Feb. 11	National Foundation Day
Mar. 21*	Vernal Equinox Day
Apr. 29	Showa-no-Hi
May 3	Constitution Day
May 4	Greenery Day
May 5	Children's Day
Third Monday of July	Marine Day
Third Monday of Sep.	Respect-for-the-Aged Day
Sep.23*	Autumnal Equinox Day
Second Monday of Oct.	Sports Day
Nov. 3	Culture Day
Nov. 23	Labor Thanksgiving Day
Dec. 23	Emperor’s Birthday
Dec. 31	New Year’s Eve

*Dates slightly vary every year.