Living in Japan, you’ll often find situations where you have to use Japanese calendar years. Although somewhat antiquated, this system is still used by the government (where all practices are out of date) and in formal documents such as Japanese resumes.

Knowing how to convert these dates at need will save you some trouble and frustration. I recommend carrying around a personal conversion chart in your wallet with the most common, important dates for you, so that you can refer to it at need.

I’ve created a tool to build and print your own conversion chart. Click here to check it out!

When to Use the Japanese Calendar

Many official forms in Japan will require you to use the Japanese calendar when writing the year. Examples include City Hall forms, some postal and banking forms, and Japanese-style resumes (rirekisho 履歴書 or shokumukeirekisho 職務経歴書).

You will be able to tell if a Japanese-style date is required by the prefix in the date field, or the option to select a prefix, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1:

平成	年      月      日

This version is frequently found as a submission date or completion date field. The current era, Heisei, is already filled in, since it’s assumed you are entering today’s date.

Example 2:

明治  大正 昭和  平成

年      月      日

A variation of this example is most common for birth dates or other days that might not have been within the last 28 years. In this example, you would circle the appropriate era and write the year, month, and day numbers. Era names may also be shortened to just the first character above or to an English Letter, such as “H28” for Heisei 28. See the chart below for more details.

Note: You may see 西暦 as a fifth “era name” option. This means “Western Calendar,” so you could circle that option and write the four-digit year (e.g. 2016).

What the Japanese Years Represent

Since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Japanese era name has changed with each Imperial accession to the throne. The current era, Heisei (平成) began the current emperor took the throne on his father’s death in 1989.

There have been 4 eras since 1868, with Heisei being the current one. In 2016, the current emperor stated that he wished to abdicate within the next few years, which would bring an end to the Heisei era.

For almost all cases, you will only ever need to use Heisei and Showa (昭和), which began in 1926, or any era name that comes into existence in the future. However, conversions for all years since the Meiji Restoration can be found below.

On Emperors’ Names

Each Emperor has a given name, but it is considered rude to refer to them by that name. It is, however, acceptable to refer to the Crown Prince (皇太子 koutaishi) by his first name. For example, Crown Prince Naruhito is the heir apparent of the current emperor and we can call him by that name. However, if he were to ascend the throne, it would not be appropriate to call him “Emperor Naruhito.”
The Imperial family does not use a family name.

In conversation or in the news, the current emperor is called “The Emperor” (天皇陛下 tenno heika) or “The Current Emperor” (今上天皇 kinjo tenno)

After death, Emperors are formally renamed to the name of their reign. Hence, we refer to the previous emperor as the Showa Emperor (although he is of course better known to history as Emperor Hirohito). You should not refer to a living emperor by his reign name as it would be something akin to wishing him dead.

Other Calendars and Year Systems in Japan

Only Japanese calendar and Gregorian (sometimes called AD or CE) calendar years are acceptable in Japan. If you have documents written in other systems, such as Buddhist, Coptic Christian, or Islamic calendar years that you need to submit in Japan, you will have to convert those and/or include a note explaining the discrepancy in years.

One example I used to see regularly was school records from Ethiopia (Coptic Christian calendar) submitted to Japanese universities. These caused significant confusion.

If you are having your records translated, do not expect a translator in Japan to know the difference in date systems and convert the dates for you automatically. You will probably have to explain it to him or her.

Special Years: When the Era Changes

The year that the era changes will have two possible designations in the Japanese calendar. In this case, you will decide which era to use based on the month and day.

For example, the Showa Emperor passed away on January 7, 1989, the 64th year of his reign. Therefore, January 1-7 1989 would be the year Showa 64. January 8 – December 31, 1989 is the year Heisei 1, called Heisei gannen (平成元年) in Japanese.

Nobody is likely to get very picky about this, so you don’t need to worry too much. This note is just for those of us who like to be extra precise!

Create Your Own Japanese Calendar Years Conversion Chart

Chances are good that you won’t ever need to refer to more than a handful of years: Your birth year, your spouse and children’s birth years, your marriage year, and the current year.

I recommend writing each of these in an Evernote note or on a business card-sized piece of paper and keeping them with you for quick reference. I have a business card-sized template you can complete and print by signing up for my free mailing list. You’ll also get a weekly update whenever I have new content and guides available.

For the rare occasions that you’ll need more years, such as writing your resume, bookmark this article and the table below.

Japanese Calendar Year Conversion Chart

Western Year (AD/CE)	Japanese Calendar Era and Year	Notes
Meiji Era  Written: 明治 (Sometimes 明 or M)
1868	明治 1 or 明治元年	From Oct 23, 1868 (Jan 1 – Oct 22 was 慶応 (Keiou) 3
1869	明治 2
1870	明治 3
1871	明治 4
1872	明治 5
1873	明治 6
1874	明治 7
1875	明治 8
1876	明治 9
1877	明治 10
1878	明治 11
1879	明治 12
1880	明治 13
1881	明治 14
1882	明治 15
1883	明治 16
1884	明治 17
1885	明治 18
1886	明治 19
1887	明治 20
1888	明治 21
1889	明治 22
1890	明治 23
1891	明治 24
1892	明治 25
1893	明治 26
1894	明治 27
1895	明治 28
1896	明治 29
1897	明治 30
1898	明治 31
1899	明治 32
1900	明治 33
1901	明治 34
1902	明治 35
1903	明治 36
1904	明治 37
1905	明治 38
1906	明治 39
1907	明治 40
1908	明治 41
1909	明治 42
1910	明治 43
1911	明治 44
1912	明治 45	Through July 30, 1912
Taisho Era  Written: 大正 (Sometimes 大 or T)
1912	大正 1 or 大正元年	From July 31, 1912
1913	大正 2
1914	大正 3
1915	大正 4
1916	大正 5
1917	大正 6
1918	大正 7
1919	大正 8
1920	大正 9
1921	大正 10
1922	大正 11
1923	大正 12
1924	大正 13
1925	大正 14
1926	大正 15	Through December 25, 1926
Showa Era  Written: 昭和 (Sometimes 昭 or S)
1926	昭和 1 or 昭和元年	From December 26, 1926
1927	昭和 2
1928	昭和 3
1929	昭和 4
1930	昭和 5
1931	昭和 6
1932	昭和 7
1933	昭和 8
1934	昭和 9
1935	昭和 10
1936	昭和 11
1937	昭和 12
1938	昭和 13
1939	昭和 14
1940	昭和 15
1941	昭和 16
1942	昭和 17
1943	昭和 18
1944	昭和 19
1945	昭和 20
1946	昭和 21
1947	昭和 22
1948	昭和 23
1949	昭和 24
1950	昭和 25
1951	昭和 26
1952	昭和 27
1953	昭和 28
1954	昭和 29
1955	昭和 30
1956	昭和 31
1957	昭和 32
1958	昭和 33
1959	昭和 34
1960	昭和 35
1961	昭和 36
1962	昭和 37
1963	昭和 38
1964	昭和 39
1965	昭和 40
1966	昭和 41
1967	昭和 42
1968	昭和 43
1969	昭和 44
1970	昭和 45
1971	昭和 46
1972	昭和 47
1973	昭和 48
1974	昭和 49
1975	昭和 50
1976	昭和 51
1977	昭和 52
1978	昭和 53
1979	昭和 54
1980	昭和 55
1981	昭和 56
1982	昭和 57
1983	昭和 58
1984	昭和 59
1985	昭和 60
1986	昭和 61
1987	昭和 62
1988	昭和 63
1989	昭和 64	Through January 7, 1989
Heisei Era  Written: 平成 (Sometimes 平 or H)
1989	平成 1 or 平成元年	From January 8, 1989
1990	平成 2
1991	平成 3
1992	平成 4
1993	平成 5
1994	平成 6
1995	平成 7
1996	平成 8
1997	平成 9
1998	平成 10
1999	平成 11
2000	平成 12
2001	平成 13
2002	平成 14
2003	平成 15
2004	平成 16
2005	平成 17
2006	平成 18
2007	平成 19
2008	平成 20
2009	平成 21
2010	平成 22
2011	平成 23
2012	平成 24
2013	平成 25
2014	平成 26
2015	平成 27
2016	平成 28
2017	平成 29