Japan hasn’t had to face a calendar change for a generation — and that was before the hyper-speed computer era. In 1989, when the calendar switched to the Heisei era from the Showa, ...

While Japan does use the Gregorian calendar, the Japanese calendar additionally keeps track of time using an era name representing the current emperor. In Akihito’s case, ...

Though less used than the Western calendar, the old Japanese calendar is still used for special occasions like births, deaths, and marriages. A new cycle begins whenever a new Emperor comes to the ...