How to read it

1970 minus 1926, the year Shōwa began, plus one, gives 45: 昭和45年. The shortcut Japanese people use: add 25 to a Shōwa year and you have the last two digits of the Western year — 45 + 25 = 70. On paper it is S45: forms print the era options — 明・大・昭・平・令, or the letters M T S H R — beside the date box, and you circle one and write the number. Someone born in 1970 turns 56 in 2026. In kazoedoshi 数え年 — the traditional count that starts at one at birth and adds a year every New Year — they are 57.

1970 in the Chinese zodiac

1970 is the year of the Metal Dog (庚戌). The zodiac year began on 6 February 1970.

Other years

• 1965昭和40年
• 1966昭和41年
• 1967昭和42年
• 1968昭和43年
• 1969昭和44年
• 1971昭和46年
• 1972昭和47年
• 1973昭和48年
• 1974昭和49年
• 1975昭和50年

Every year of the Shōwa era → · How the Japanese calendar works, and every year 1868–2050