How to read it

2026 minus 2019, the year Reiwa began, plus one, gives 8: 令和8年. The shortcut Japanese people use: add 18 to a Reiwa year and you have the last two digits of the Western year — 8 + 18 = 26. On paper it is R8: 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. A child born in 2026 is in its first year — but in kazoedoshi 数え年, the traditional count that starts at one at birth and adds a year every New Year, it is already 1, and will be 2 on 1 January 2027.

2026 in the Chinese zodiac

2026 is the year of the Fire Horse (丙午). The zodiac year began on 17 February 2026.

Other years

• 2021令和3年
• 2022令和4年
• 2023令和5年
• 2024令和6年
• 2025令和7年
• 2027令和9年
• 2028令和10年
• 2029令和11年
• 2030令和12年
• 2031令和13年

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