Japan is scrambling to update software, revise forms and print new
calendars before May 1, 2019 when the world’s third-largest economy begins a
new imperial era.
For most of the rest of the world, it will remain the year 2019 when the clock strikes midnight.
Across Japan, which relies internally on an ancient calendar that honours a reigning emperor, it will be the first day of the first year of the age of Reiwa
The new era, christened just weeks ago, will force the country’s sprawling bureaucracy to literally turn back the clock to Year 1. Experts compare it to Y2K, the digital threat in the lead-up to the year 2000, if on a much smaller and less consequential scale
The Japanese adopted the imperial calendar from the Chinese in the seventh century, and government agencies have been required to use it since the late 1970s. Other countries in the region, including China itself, have moved on and adopted the Gregorian calendar for official business
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, the announcement was made the same day that Emperor Hirohito died. Within 24 hours, much of the initial work of replacing signs and updating forms was done by hand.
This time, the transition has been more orderly. The abdication date for the current emperor, Akihito, was announced in late 2017, giving the nation nearly 18 months to get ready.
For most of the rest of the world, it will remain the year 2019 when the clock strikes midnight.
Across Japan, which relies internally on an ancient calendar that honours a reigning emperor, it will be the first day of the first year of the age of Reiwa
The new era, christened just weeks ago, will force the country’s sprawling bureaucracy to literally turn back the clock to Year 1. Experts compare it to Y2K, the digital threat in the lead-up to the year 2000, if on a much smaller and less consequential scale
The Japanese adopted the imperial calendar from the Chinese in the seventh century, and government agencies have been required to use it since the late 1970s. Other countries in the region, including China itself, have moved on and adopted the Gregorian calendar for official business
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, the announcement was made the same day that Emperor Hirohito died. Within 24 hours, much of the initial work of replacing signs and updating forms was done by hand.
This time, the transition has been more orderly. The abdication date for the current emperor, Akihito, was announced in late 2017, giving the nation nearly 18 months to get ready.
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