Japanese Era vs Western Dates (令和 / 西暦) on Your Resume

Japan uses two calendars side by side: the Western year (西暦, e.g. 2026) and the Japanese era year (和暦, e.g. 令和8). On a rirekisho you may use either — but mixing them is one of the most common and most noticeable mistakes. Here is how to keep it clean.

How the era calendar works

Each emperor's reign is an era that counts from year 1. The current era, 令和 (Reiwa), began in 2019, so Reiwa 1 = 2019, and the years line up like this:

• 令和1 = 2019
• 令和6 = 2024
• 令和7 = 2025
• 令和8 = 2026

The previous era, 平成 (Heisei), ran 1989–2019, so many applicants' birth and school dates fall in Heisei. Heisei 1 = 1989; to convert, add 1988 (e.g. Heisei 10 = 1998).

The one rule that matters

Pick one system and use it for every date on the resume — birth date, school entrance and graduation, jobs, and the “as of” date. A sheet that says you were born in 平成 but graduated in 2024 looks careless. There is no “correct” choice between them; consistency is what employers notice.

Which should a foreigner choose?

Western dates (西暦) are completely acceptable and usually easier for foreign applicants to keep accurate, since you already know your dates that way. Use 和暦 only if you are confident converting every date correctly. Whatever you choose, double-check your birth year and graduation years.

Converting older dates: Heisei and Showa

Your birth year and school years may fall in earlier eras. The conversion is a simple addition, as long as you use the right number for each era:

• 令和 (Reiwa): Western year = Reiwa year + 2018. Reiwa 8 = 2026.
• 平成 (Heisei): Western year = Heisei year + 1988. Heisei 12 = 2000.
• 昭和 (Showa): Western year = Showa year + 1925. Showa 60 = 1985.

Era changes happen mid-year, which catches people out. Heisei began on 8 January 1989, so a birthday on 5 January 1989 is 昭和64年, while one on 20 January 1989 is 平成元年. Reiwa began on 1 May 2019: April 2019 is 平成31年4月, and May 2019 is 令和元年5月. The first year of an era is written 元年 (gannen) rather than 1年 on formal documents, although 1年 is understood. The free era converter handles these edge cases for you.

Getting school years right

Japanese schools start in April and finish in March, so education dates on a rirekisho are written as 入学 (entered) in April and 卒業 (graduated) in March. If you studied abroad, use your real months — a September start and June finish is fine — but keep the same calendar system. The usual off-by-one mistake is writing a graduation year one year too early. A quick check: if you entered a three-year high school in April 2020, you graduated in March 2023, not 2022.

Here is how one education history looks in each system. Western: 2020年4月 ○○高等学校 入学 / 2023年3月 ○○高等学校 卒業. Japanese era: 令和2年4月 ○○高等学校 入学 / 令和5年3月 ○○高等学校 卒業. Both are correct; mixing the two lines is not.

Do some employers prefer one system?

Government offices, banks, and older, traditional companies have historically used 和暦 on their own paperwork, and some printed forms have 昭和・平成・令和 already printed beside the date box. If a form like that is supplied, follow it. Foreign-affiliated companies, IT firms, and most part-time employers use 西暦 day to day. When the choice is yours, either is acceptable. What the reader notices is consistency, and that the 現在 (“as of”) date at the top uses the same system as everything below it.

Let the tool handle it

ResumeJP keeps your date format consistent across the whole sheet automatically, so you cannot accidentally mix 令和 and 西暦. Pick your preference once and fill in the rest in the editor. For the full set of fields, see the rirekisho guide.