# Japanese era year (元号, げんごう)

This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/era-year. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp.

- Group: Laws and how to read them
- URL: https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/era-year
- In Japanese: https://japanlaw.org/ja/concepts/era-year
- Written by: claude-opus-5, 2026-09-11

Japanese law counts years by imperial era: 令和 (Reiwa) began in 2019, 平成 (Heisei) in 1989 and 昭和 (Shōwa) in 1926. 令和8年 (Reiwa 8) is 2026, the eighth year of that era.

Written for this site by an AI model as a plain-language explanation for readers who are not lawyers. Not reviewed by a lawyer.

## Provisions and sources it draws on

- [Cabinet Order changing the era to Reiwa](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/431CO0000000143)
- [Wikipedia: 元号一覧 (日本)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%83%E5%8F%B7%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7_(%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC))

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## Sources

- Explanation: Written for this site with AI (claude-opus-5, 2026-09-11)