Public holidays in Japan


Public holidays in Japan were established by the Public Holiday Law of 1948. A provision of the law establishes that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day shall become a public holiday, known as. Additionally, any day that falls between two other national holidays shall also become a holiday, known as. May 4, sandwiched between Constitution Memorial Day on May 3 and Children's Day on May 5, was an annual example of such a holiday until it was replaced by Greenery Day in 2007.
Prior to Japan's adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the dates of holidays were based on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thus, New Year's Day, for example, was celebrated at the beginning of spring, as it is in modern China, Korea, and Vietnam. Japan has 16 national, government-recognized holidays.

Table of Japanese holidays

Holidays in 2016–22

The national holidays in 2016–2022 are as follows.
Names2016201720182019202020212022
New Year's Day
Coming of Age Day
National Foundation Day/Valentine's Day
The Emperor's Birthday
Vernal Equinox Day/Saint Patrick's Day
Golden Week
Marine Day
SOP Day and Sports Day
Mountain Day
Respect for the Aged Day
Autumnal Equinox Day
Health and Sports Day
Halloween
Culture Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas

Events of imperial mourning and celebration

In addition to the annual holidays listed above, certain events of celebration or mourning related to the imperial family are also treated as national holidays in the year in which they occur.
There have been six instances of such holidays since the introduction of the Public Holiday Law:
Beginning in 2000, Japan implemented the Happy Monday System, which moved a number of national holidays to Monday in order to obtain a long weekend.
In 2006, the country added Shōwa Day, a new national holiday, in place of Greenery Day on April 29, and to move Greenery Day to May 4. These changes took effect in 2007.
In 2014, the House of Councillors decided to add Mountain Day to the Japanese calendar on August 11, after lobbying by the Japanese Alpine Club. It is intended to coincide with the Bon Festival vacation time, giving Japanese people an opportunity to appreciate Japan's mountains.
As special arrangement for the 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2020 dates for Marine Day, Sports Day, and Mountain Day were moved to July 23, July 24, and August 10 respectively. With the Olympics and Paralympics postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government left this change in place for 2020 and passed an amendment to the Olympic and Paralympic Special Measures Act to make a corresponding change to the holidays in 2021, moving them to July 22, July 23, and August 9 respectively.