JAPANESE CULTURE, EXPLAINED
学年・学校暦
Japan’s primary and secondary school year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Academic years, terms, holidays and ceremonies describe different layers of a school calendar.
Primary and secondary schools and kōsen (colleges of technology) follow the statutory year; universities and specialised training colleges set their boundaries. High schools, upper-secondary special-needs departments and universities can also admit or graduate students at term boundaries during the year.
| Layer | Timing and meaning |
|---|---|
| Academic year | The institutional year |
| Terms | Teaching divisions within it |
| Classes, holidays and ceremonies | Consult the school calendar |
At Nishi-Konakadai Elementary in Chiba, summer holidays fall within the first term, while the entrance ceremony and term opening are separate events. The table excerpts its published 2026 plan, which is subject to change; it is not a national calendar.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 April | First-term opening |
| 10 April | Entrance ceremony |
| 18 July–31 August | Summer holiday within first term |
| 8 October | First-term closing |
| 14 October | Second-term opening |
| 4月1日生 | Born 1 April: enters the academic year beginning on the sixth birthday. |
|---|---|
| 4月2日生 | Born 2 April: normally waits for the next academic year; legal age is attained at the end of the preceding day. |
MEXT explains that legal age is reached at the end of the day before a birthday. A child born on 1 April 2020 reaches six at the end of 31 March 2026, ready for April entry. One born on 2 April reaches six a day later and normally enters the following year. The cohort therefore spans 2 April through the next 1 April.
In early Meiji higher education, September entry predominated under British and German models. A parliamentary research account connects the move towards April with the 1886 fiscal-year change and an earlier conscription reporting deadline. Teacher-training schools changed first, followed by elementary and middle schools.
NIER’s Education Library distinguishes adoption from codification: elementary schools adopted April nationwide in 1892, while the 1900 enforcement regulations explicitly set 1 April to 31 March. Old higher schools changed in 1919 and imperial universities in 1921. The dates differ because institutions followed separate transitions; the elementary-school history cannot stand for every university.
No. Its published first term continues into October.
No. The first normally enters in the 2026 academic year, the second in 2027.
It marks explicit codification; the research also identifies adoption in 1892.