Majority See Japanese Era Calendar as Standard: Jiji Poll

January 18, 2019

Tokyo--A majority of Japanese people use the Japanese era calendar more than the Christian calendar, a Jiji Press survey showed.

Asked about which era is more frequently used for calendar years in daily living, 54.9 pct of respondents answered the Japanese era, while the Christian era was chosen by 32.6 pct. According to the survey, 12.5 pct said that they did not know.

The survey showed that the Japanese era calendar is more commonly used by people in older generations.

Among respondents aged 60 and older, 64.7 pct primarily use the Japanese era, while 21.9 pct use the Christian equivalent more frequently.

In the age group of 10 to 39 years, the proportion of respondents who use the Japanese era calendar nearly matched that of those choosing the Christian calendar, at levels below 50 pct.

The current Japanese era, known as Heisei, will end on April 30, when Emperor Akihito abdicates, and the name will change on May 1, when his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, accedes to the throne.

The government plans to announce the new era name on April 1 to get people prepared for the change.

The survey was conducted through interviews with 2,000 people aged 18 and older nationwide on Jan. 11 through Monday. Of them, 62.0 pct gave valid answers. Jiji Press