Beginning in 2000, Japan implemented the
Happy Monday System, which moved a number of national holidays to Monday in order to obtain a long weekend. •
Coming-of-Age Day: January 15 → 2nd Monday of January, starting in 2000. •
Marine Day: July 20 → 3rd Monday of July, starting in 2003. •
Respect for the Aged Day: September 15 → 3rd Monday of September, starting in 2003. •
Health and Sports Day: October 10 → 2nd Monday of October, starting in 2000. In 2006, the country added
Shōwa Day, a new national holiday, in place of
Greenery Day on April 29, and to move Greenery Day to May 4. These changes took effect in 2007. In 2014, the
House of Councillors decided to add to the Japanese calendar on August 11, after lobbying by the
Japanese Alpine Club. It is intended to coincide with the
Bon Festival vacation time, giving Japanese people an opportunity to appreciate Japan's mountains. With the
Japanese imperial transition, the
Emperor's Birthday was moved from December 23 to February 23 (the respective birthdays of
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and
Emperor Naruhito). Due to Akihito's 2019 birthday being after his abdication but Naruhito's before his accession, this holiday was not celebrated in 2019. As special arrangement for the
2020 Summer Olympics, the 2020 dates for Marine Day, Sports Day, and Mountain Day were moved to July 23, July 24, and August 10 respectively. With the Olympics and Paralympics
postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government left this change in place for 2020 and passed an amendment to the Olympic and Paralympic Special Measures Act to make a corresponding change to the holidays in 2021, moving them to July 22, July 23, and August 9 respectively. ==See also==