Coming of Age Day

Coming of Age Day, Seijin no Hi, honours young people entering adult civic life. The national holiday was created in 1948 and originally fell on January 15; the Happy Monday reform moved it to the second Monday beginning in 2000. Its modern ceremonies are often traced to local postwar gatherings intended to encourage young people during reconstruction, although communities developed different formats and eligibility rules.

Japan lowered the Civil Code age of majority from twenty to eighteen in April 2022, but that did not automatically make every municipal ceremony an event for eighteen-year-olds. Many cities continue inviting people who turn twenty during the relevant school-year cohort, partly to avoid clashes with university entrance examinations and to preserve established reunion groups. Municipal notices, not the holiday name alone, determine who receives an invitation.

Coming of Age Day is governed by Japan’s Act on National Holidays, and the Cabinet Office’s official calendar confirms its 2026 date. A statutory national holiday falling on Sunday creates a holiday on the nearest following day that is not already a national holiday; a weekday between two national holidays is also a holiday. These rules, not an informal “Mondayisation” assumption, produce May 6 and September 22 in 2026. Bank of Japan offices additionally close from December 31 through January 3, but those banking closures do not turn December 31 or January 2–3 into national holidays for all workers and businesses.