Japanese Era Converter (和暦西暦変換)
Convert between Japanese era years and Western calendar years.
Overview
Japanese era years (和暦) count from the accession of each emperor, restarting at year one with every transition. Five eras cover the modern period: Meiji from 1868, Taishō from 1912, Shōwa from 1926, Heisei from 1989 and Reiwa from 2019. Conversion is addition — Reiwa 8 is 2019 + 8 − 1, or 2026 — but the boundary years need care.
Japanese Era (和暦)
Western Year (西暦)
Japanese Era Reference (年号一覧)
| Era | Romanization | Period |
|---|---|---|
How to Use
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1
Enter the value
Type the amount you want to convert into the Japanese Era Converter (和暦西暦変換).
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2
Choose the units
Select the unit to convert from and the unit to convert to.
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3
Read the converted value
The conversion updates instantly in your browser — no button, nothing sent to a server.
About
Transition years belong to two eras at once. 1989 was Shōwa 64 until 7 January and Heisei 1 from 8 January; 2019 was Heisei 31 until 30 April and Reiwa 1 from 1 May. A document dated only by year in a transition year is ambiguous without a month, which is why Japanese administrative forms request both.
Era years remain standard on Japanese official documents, driving licences, coins and residence records, so any system holding Japanese personal data converts between the two notations rather than choosing one.