How the system works
Alongside the Western calendar, Japan counts years from the start of each emperor's era. 2026 is Reiwa 8, written 令和8年. The first year of an era is written 元年 (gannen) rather than 1年. Official forms, residence cards, driving licenses and many bank documents still use era years.
Recent eras
- Reiwa (令和, R): from 1 May 2019. Western year = Reiwa year + 2018.
- Heisei (平成, H): 8 January 1989 to 30 April 2019. Western year = Heisei year + 1988.
- Showa (昭和, S): 25 December 1926 to 7 January 1989. Western year = Showa year + 1925.
- Taisho (大正, T): 30 July 1912 to 24 December 1926.
- Meiji (明治, M): 1868 to 29 July 1912.
Abbreviations on forms
Forms often print the era as a letter: R8.10.5 is Reiwa 8, 5 October, which is 5 October 2026. H10 is Heisei 10, 1998. On forms with tick boxes, circle the era and write the year of the era, not the Western year.
Years with two eras
When an era ends partway through a year, that year has two names. 7 January 1989 is Showa 64 and 8 January 1989 is Heisei 1; 30 April 2019 is Heisei 31 and 1 May 2019 is Reiwa 1. Check the full date for those years.
The Japanese Era Converter converts a full date either way, and the Japanese Age Chart lists every birth year with its era year and age.