Heisei period - wikipedia Heisei period `` Heisei '' redirects here. For the current Japanese emperor who will be known as Heisei after his death, see Akihito. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2011 ) History of Japan Mount Fuji and Tokyo Skytree Periods Paleolithic before 14,000 BC Jōmon 14,000 -- 300 BC Yayoi 300 BC -- 300 AD Kofun 300 -- 538 Asuka 538 -- 710 Nara 710 -- 794 Heian 794 -- 1185 Kamakura 1185 -- 1333 Kenmu Restoration 1333 -- 1336 Muromachi ( Ashikaga ) Nanboku - chō Sengoku 1336 -- 1573 Azuchi -- Momoyama Nanban trade 1573 -- 1603 Edo ( Tokugawa ) Sakoku Convention of Kanagawa Bakumatsu 1603 -- 1868 Meiji Boshin War Restoration First Sino - Japanese War Russo - Japanese War 1868 -- 1912 Taishō World War I 1912 -- 1926 Shōwa Financial crisis Militarism World War II Occupation Economic miracle Post-occupation Bubble Economy 1926 -- 1989 Heisei Lost Decade 1989 -- present Topics Currency Earthquakes Economy Education Empire Historiography Military Naval Post-war Glossary Timeline The Heisei period ( Japanese : 平成 時代, Hepburn : Heisei jidai ) is the current era in Japan. The Heisei period started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito. His son, the 125th Emperor Akihito, acceded to the throne. In accordance with Japanese customs, Hirohito was posthumously renamed the 124th `` Emperor Shōwa '' on 31 January 1989. Thus, 1989 corresponds to Shōwa 64 until 7 January, and Heisei 1 ( 平成 元 年, Heisei gannen, gannen means `` first year '' ) since 8 January. To convert a Gregorian calendar year ( after 1989 ) to Heisei, 1988 needs to be subtracted from the year in question ( e.g. 2018 − 1988 = Heisei 30 ) ( 2018 = Heisei 30 ). The Heisei period will likely end on 30 April 2019 ( Heisei 31 ), the date on which Emperor Akihito is expected to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne. Contents 1 History and meaning 2 Events 3 Conversion table 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading History and meaning Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko with family ( 2013 ) On 7 January 1989, at 07 : 55 JST, the Grand Steward of Japan 's Imperial Household Agency, Shōichi Fujimori, announced Emperor Hirohito 's death, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. Shortly after the death of the Emperor, Keizō Obuchi, then Chief Cabinet Secretary and later Prime Minister of Japan, announced the end of the Shōwa era, and heralded the new era name `` Heisei '' for the new Emperor, and explained its meaning. According to Obuchi, the name `` Heisei '' was taken from two Chinese history and philosophy books, namely Records of the Grand Historian ( 史記 Shiki ) and the Classic of History ( 書 経 Shokyō ). In the Shiki, the sentence `` 内 平 外 成 '' ( nèi píng wài chéng ; Kanbun : 内 平 か に 外 成る Uchi tairaka ni soto naru ) appears in a section honoring the wise rule of the legendary Chinese Emperor Shun. In the Shokyō, the sentence `` 地平 天成 '' ( dì píng tiān chéng ; Kanbun : 地平 か に 天成 る Chi tairaka ni ten naru ) appears. By combining both meanings, Heisei is intended to mean `` peace everywhere ''. The Heisei era went into effect immediately upon the day after Emperor Akihito 's succession to the throne on 7 January 1989. In August 2016, Emperor Akihito gave a televised address to the nation, in which he expressed concern that his age would one day stop him from fulfilling his official duties. This was an implication of his wish to retire. The Japanese Diet passed a law in June 2017 to allow the throne to pass to Akihito 's son, Naruhito. After meeting with members of the Imperial House Council, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced that 30 April 2019 would be the date set for Akihito 's abdication. The Era of Naruhito 's reign will begin the next day. Events 1989 marked the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growth spurts in Japanese history. With a strong yen and a favorable exchange rate with the US dollar, the Bank of Japan kept interest rates low, sparking an investment boom that drove Tokyo property values up 60 percent within that year. Shortly before New Year 's Day, the Nikkei 225 reached its record high of 39,000. By 1992, it had fallen to 15,000, signifying the end of Japan 's famed `` bubble economy ''. Subsequently, Japan experienced the `` Lost Decade '', which actually consisted of more than ten years of price deflation and largely stagnant GDP as Japan 's banks struggled to resolve their bad debts and companies in other sectors struggled to restructure. The Recruit scandal of 1988 had already eroded public confidence in the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ), which had controlled the Japanese government for 38 years. In 1993, the LDP was ousted by a coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa. However, the coalition collapsed as parties had gathered only to overthrow LDP, and lacked a unified position on almost every social issue. The LDP returned to the government in 1994, when it helped to elect Japan Socialist ( later Social Democrat ) Tomiichi Murayama as prime minister. In 1995, there was a large 6.8 earthquake in Kobe, Hyōgo and sarin gas terrorist attacks were carried out on the Tokyo Metro by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo. Failure of the Japanese government to react to these events promptly led to the formation of non-government organisations which have been playing an increasingly important role in Japanese politics since. During this period, Japan reemerged as a military power. In 1991, Japan pledged billions of U.S. dollars for the Gulf War, but constitutional arguments prevented a participation in actual war, leading Iran to criticise Japan for just pledging money and did not appreciate the way Japan co-operated in the Gulf War. However, after the war, Japanese Minesweepers were sent as a part of the reconstruction effort. Following the Iraq War, in 2003, Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi 's Cabinet approved a plan to send about 1,000 soldiers of the Japan Self - Defense Forces to help in Iraq 's reconstruction, the biggest overseas troop deployment since World War II without the sanction of the UN. On 23 October 2004, the Heisei 16 Niigata Prefecture Earthquakes rocked the Hokuriku region, killing 52 and injuring hundreds ( see 2004 Chūetsu earthquake ). After an election defeat, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe resigned suddenly, and in Autumn 2007 Yasuo Fukuda became Prime Minister. Fukuda in turn resigned on September 2008 citing political failings, and Taro Aso was selected by his party. In August 2009, for the first time, the Democratic Party of Japan ( DPJ ) won 308 seats in the lower house election, which ended 50 years of political domination by the LDP. As a result of the election, Taro Aso resigned as leader of the LDP, and Yukio Hatoyama, president of DPJ became Prime Minister on 16 September 2009. However, DPJ soon became mired in party financing scandals, particularly involving aides close to Ichirō Ozawa. Naoto Kan was chosen by the DPJ as the next Prime Minister, but he soon lost a working majority in the House of Councillors election, and the 2010 Senkaku boat collision incident caused increased tension between Japan and China. The 2009 -- 2010 Toyota vehicle recalls also took place during this time. In 2011, a sumo tournament was cancelled for the first time in 65 years over a match fixing scandal. On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered the strongest recorded earthquake in its history, affecting places in the northeast of Honshū, including the Tokyo area. The quake 's magnitude of 9.0 approached that of the severe 2004 megathrust earthquake. A tsunami with waves of up to 10 meters ( 32.5 feet ) flooded inland areas several kilometers from shore, causing a large number of considerable fires. The epicenter of the quake lay so close to coastal villages and towns that thousands could not flee in time, despite a tsunami warning system. At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and three other nuclear power plants, there occurred serious problems with the cooling systems, ultimately leading to the most serious case of radioactive contamination since the Chernobyl disaster ( see Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster ), as well as ongoing electric power shortages. Following the earthquake, for the first time, the Emperor addressed the nation in a pre-recorded television broadcast. In August 2011, Kan resigned, and Yoshihiko Noda became Prime Minister. Later that year Olympus Corporation admitted major accounting irregularities. ( See Tobashi scheme. ) Noda pushed for Japan to consider joining the Trans - Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, but was defeated in an election in 2012, being replaced by Shinzō Abe. Abe sought to end deflation, but Japan entered recession again in 2014 largely due to a rise in sales tax to 8 %. Abe called an election in December, and promised to delay further sales tax hikes to 2018. He won the election. In September 2015, after much controversy and debate, the National Diet gave final approval to legislation expanding the Japanese military 's role overseas. Conversion table A rail pass valid during the year Heisei 18 ( which means 2006 ) Shōwa 62 63 64 Gregorian 1989 Heisei 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gregorian 1989 1991 1995 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 Heisei 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Gregorian 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 See also 1989 in Japan 1990s in Japan 2000s in Japan 2010 in Japan, 2011 in Japan, 2012 in Japan, 2013 in Japan, 2014 in Japan, 2015 in Japan, 2016 in Japan, 2017 in Japan, 2018 in Japan References ^ Jump up to : `` Japan 's emperor to abdicate on April 30, 2019 : gov 't source ''. english.kyodonews.net. Kyodo News. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017. Jump up ^ Kyodo, Jiji ( 3 December 2017 ). `` Japan 's publishers wait in suspense for next era name ''. The Japan Times Online. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 31. Jump up ^ Martin Fackler, Kevin Drew : Devastation as Tsunami Crashes Into Japan. The New York Times, 11 March 2011 Jump up ^ USGS analysis as of 12 March 2011 Archived 13 March 2011 at WebCite Jump up ^ Massive tsunami caused by quake 's shallow focus. The Hamilton Spectator, 12 March 2011 Jump up ^ Japan 's catastrophes -- Nature strikes back -- Can fragile Japan endure this hydra - headed disaster ? The Economist, 17 March 2011 Jump up ^ K.N.C., H.T., A.N. : Containing the nuclear crisis Jump up ^ Obe, Mitsuru ( September 18, 2015 ). `` Japan Parliament Approves Overseas Military Expansion ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 27, 2015. Further reading Flath, David. The Japanese Economy ( 2nd ed. 2005 ) excerpt and text search Hanson, Marta E. The Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics ( 2011 ) excerpt and text search Koo, Richard C. The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics : Lessons from Japan 's Great Recession ( 2nd ed. 2009 ) excerpt and text search Pascua, Arthur. Devastation in Japan : An Economic Analysis ( 2012 ) excerpt and text search, on 2011 Tsunami Schoppa, Leonard J. The Evolution of Japan 's Party System : Politics and Policy in an Era of Institutional Change ( University of Toronto Press ; 2012 ) 232 pages ; Argues that changes starting in the 1990s set the stage for the 2009 victory of the Democratic Party Preceded by Shōwa Era 8 January 1989 -- present Most recent Preceded by Post-occupation Japan Periods of Japanese history 8 January 1989 -- present Most recent Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heisei_period&oldid=829065139 '' Categories : Heisei period Postwar Japan Japanese eras Hidden categories : Webarchive template webcite links Use dmy dates from April 2012 Articles needing additional references from March 2011 All articles needing additional references Articles containing Japanese - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bân - lâm - gú Català Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Occitan Polski Português Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 文言 粵語 中文 29 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 March 2018, at 12 : 18. 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Question: what year is it now in the japanese calendar
Answer: Heisei period