As many people–and all residents of Japan–know, Japan uses two different systems for counting years: the CE (Western) system and the Japanese Era system.

A few years ago, the current Emperor, Akihito, petitioned the government to allow him to step down. (Traditionally, an Emperor’s reign ends only at his death, with no provision for abdication of the throne.) Eventually, this was granted, and the last day of April 2019 (in the Japanese year system, Heisei 31) will be the last day of his reign.

He will be succeeded by his son, Naruhito, and May 1 will be the beginning of the Reiwa era. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has suggested that the name means “Beautiful Harmony”. Other possible meanings are “Harmony by Command” or “Peace through Order”, which both have a fascistic bent to them, so the clarification by the Foreign Ministry seems intended to dispel those interpretations.

As foreigners (expatriates, immigrants, expats–whatever you prefer to call it) in Japan, and as permanent residents of Japan, we’re hopeful that the new era does bring beautiful harmony.

Traditionally, holidays at the end of April and beginning of May were combined to form the “Golden Week” holiday, beginning with Showa Day on April 29 (celebrating the birthday of Emperor Akihito’s father) and including May 3 (Constitution Day), May 4 (Green/Greenery Day), and May 5 (Children’s Day). Because of Japanese law about distance between holidays, May 2 or May 6 are holidays in many years.

This year, 2019, there will be a “Platinum Week” holiday instead. By designating April 30 and May 1 as special holidays, the 10-day period from Saturday, April 27, to Monday, May 6 (when Children’s day will be celebrated, will be holidays.

The lesser-known “Silver Week”, a 5-day Saturday-to-Wednesday holiday in September, doesn’t happen every year, occurring only when the autumnal equinox is celebrated on the Wednesday after the third Monday of September (which is “Respect for the Aged” day). This happened last in 2015 and won’t happen again until 2026.

Whether you’re in Japan or not, we hope that you’ll take the chance during Platinum Week to listen to the first three episodes of our podcast, which will be released on May 2nd, with a new podcast each week after that.

Subscribers to our Patreon at any level will receive access a week early, beginning by receiving a fourth episode on May 2nd. Each episode will include a summary, content notes (alerting listeners to content that contains common triggers or sensitive subjects), and a transcript.

We hope you’ll subscribe to the podcast, and patronage through Patreon or Ko-fi are greatly appreciated, helping us to produce more content about life as foreigners in Japan, life as disabled people, and life in general.