What an era name is

Japan counts years in two ways at once. One is the Gregorian year (2026). The other is the year of the current era, called a gengō (元号). The current era is Reiwa (令和), and 2026 is Reiwa 8. Era years appear on forms, licenses, receipts, official notices and calendars, so it helps to read them quickly.

An era is not a name for a historical period only. It is a counter that restarts at year 1 each time a new era begins.

What the law says

The Era Name Law (元号法) of 1979 has two rules:

1. The era name is set by Cabinet Order.
2. The era name is changed only when the Emperor's throne is succeeded.

So a new era does not start on January 1 or at any other fixed date. It starts with an imperial succession, and the date is chosen in the Cabinet Order. The same law says the era "Shōwa" is treated as set by the first rule.

The reading of the name is also fixed by the government, in a Cabinet notification. For the current era, the reading is Reiwa.

How the last two changes happened

The two most recent changes show how the rule works in practice.

The Heisei and Reiwa dates come from the Cabinet Orders and the Prime Minister's statements, which the Cabinet Office publishes. According to the Prime Minister's statement on April 1, 2019, Reiwa is taken from a passage in the Man'yōshū, an anthology compiled more than 1,200 years ago. The statement of January 7, 1989 says Heisei comes from two Chinese classics.

Because the date of the next change depends on an imperial succession, nobody can say when the next era will start.

How to convert an era year

Each era starts counting at 1, so you only need to add a fixed number to get the Gregorian year.

Some examples: Reiwa 8 is 8 + 2018 = 2026. Heisei 12 is 12 + 1988 = 2000. Shōwa 50 is 50 + 1925 = 1975. To go the other way, subtract: 1990 minus 1988 is Heisei 2.

The one thing to watch is the year of a change. 2019 is both Heisei 31 and Reiwa 1: it is Heisei 31 up to April 30, and Reiwa 1 from May 1. 1989 is Shōwa 64 up to January 7 and Heisei 1 from January 8. If a date falls in one of those years, the month and day decide the era. The Japanese era converter does this check for you.

Year 1 is written gannen

The first year of an era is called gannen (元年), as in Reiwa gannen. Forms usually accept "1" as well, and some forms print the number already. The meaning is the same.

The government's fiscal year works in a similar way. Under the inter-ministry agreement of April 2019, the budget year that began in April 2019 was named Reiwa gannen for the whole year, even though its first month fell in Heisei 31.

Old forms after a change

When an era changes, a lot of paper still has the old name printed on it. In 2019 the government settled the question in a written policy: a document that already used "Heisei" for a date after the change stays valid, and an application that arrives with "Heisei" on a date after the change is accepted as valid. Forms that still have the old name printed on them may be corrected by hand or with a correction stamp, or they may carry a notice that the old name remains valid.

So an old form with the wrong era printed on it is not a problem. Write the year you mean, and cross out or correct the printed era if the office asks.

Short forms on documents

Many forms use a letter for the era: M for Meiji, T for Taishō, S for Shōwa, H for Heisei and R for Reiwa. Some forms ask you to circle the era and write only the number. A few ask for the Gregorian year only, so read the notes on the form. For how ages are counted on the same forms, see how ages are counted in Japan. For days off linked to the calendar, see Japan's public holidays explained.

Frequently asked questions

What era is it now, and what year?

The era is Reiwa. 2026 is Reiwa 8. The Reiwa era began on May 1, 2019, which is Reiwa 1.

Is 2019 Heisei 31 or Reiwa 1?

Both. Heisei 31 ran from January 1 to April 30, 2019, and Reiwa 1 began on May 1, 2019.

Who chooses the next era name?

The Cabinet, through a Cabinet Order, under the Era Name Law. The era changes only when the throne is succeeded, so there is no fixed date.

Sources

• Era Name Law (元号法, in Japanese)
• Cabinet Order changing the era name to Reiwa (平成31年政令第143号, in Japanese)
• Cabinet Order changing the era name to Heisei (昭和64年政令第1号, in Japanese)
• Cabinet Office: About era names, with the Cabinet notifications on readings and the Prime Minister's statements of 1989 and 2019 (in Japanese)
• Inter-ministry memo of April 1, 2019: handling of era-based year notation at the era change (in Japanese)
• Start dates of Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa are the commonly used ones. Before 1873, Japan used a different calendar.

Related pages

• Japanese era converterReiwa, Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji years to Gregorian years, and back.
• How ages are counted in JapanKazoedoshi, man-nenrei, unlucky years and the April 2 school-year cut-off.
• Japan's public holidays explainedThe 16 holidays, Monday holidays, substitute days, and which banks and offices close.
• Japan holidays 2027 and long weekend plannerPublic holidays, long weekends and how much paid leave makes a longer break.
• Tatami room size calculatorJō to square meters and square feet, with the four regional mat sizes.
• How to read a Japanese floor plan1K, 1LDK, jō and m²: what the codes and numbers in a rental listing mean.

Last updated: 2026-10-04