ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Japanese imperial year

Imagine you have a special calendar that you use to count the years, just like how you count your age. This special calendar is used by the people in Japan, and it starts counting from the year when the first emperor of Japan took the throne – a super important day, kind of like your birthday!

Every year after that, the people in Japan use that same calendar to count the years. But instead of using the regular numbers we use (1, 2, 3, etc.), they use special numbers that are connected to the emperors who ruled during those years. For example, when Emperor Naruhito became emperor in 2019, people started calling that year Heisei 31, because his dad was the previous emperor, and his reign lasted for 31 years.

This way of counting the years is called the Japanese imperial year, and it’s a really important part of history and tradition in Japan. It helps people to remember past emperors and important events that happened during their reigns. So now, if you ever hear someone talking about the Japanese imperial year, you’ll know that they’re talking about a special way that people in Japan count the years!