Emperor’s Birthday in Japan (Tennō Tanjōbi) - February 23, the public holiday marking the reigning Emperor’s birthday
Japan’s Emperor’s Birthday (天皇誕生日, Tennō Tanjōbi) on February 23 is a national public holiday marking the birthday of the reigning Emperor, currently Emperor Naruhito (b. 1960). The date is set to the birthday of each Emperor and was moved from December 23 to February 23 when Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, 2019.
Federal holidayPublished October 15, 2026
- Observed in
- Where observed
- When
- February
- Frequency
- Same date every year
- Days off
- 1 day - federal workers / banks off
- Public status
- Federal / public holiday (banks + federal offices closed)
Japan's Emperor's Birthday (天皇誕生日, Tennō Tanjōbi) on February 23 is a national public holiday marking the birthday of the reigning Emperor, currently Emperor Naruhito. The date was moved from December 23 to February 23 in 2020 when Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne.
The one-line summary
National public holiday on February 23, observed every year. Federal category, standard tier. One of sixteen national public holidays in Japan. The holiday date moves with each imperial succession.
Origin
The Emperor's Birthday has been a national public holiday in Japan since 1868, when the Meiji government placed the imperial birthday on the national calendar as Tenchō-setsu (天長節). Under the Meiji Constitution, the imperial birthday was also the day on which the imperial rescript addressed the people, and the day carried significant state symbolism.
Under the 1947 Constitution, the day became Tenno Tanjōbi, the Emperor's Birthday, with the Emperor as a symbol of the state rather than a sovereign ruler. The date was reset with each succession: Emperor Shōwa (April 29) became Shōwa Day; Emperor Akihito (December 23) was the Emperor's Birthday from 1989 to 2018; Emperor Naruhito (February 23) became the Emperor's Birthday from 2020 onward.
When it falls
Emperor's Birthday is fixed on the birthday of the reigning Emperor - currently February 23. The date is constant for the duration of a reign and changes when a new Emperor ascends. There is no substitute-holiday shift: the day is observed on its calendar date. In 2026, February 23 is a Monday, opening a three-day weekend.
How it is observed
The Emperor and Empress appear on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo at around 10:30 a.m. on the day and acknowledge the crowds gathered in the palace square. The Imperial Household Agency organises the appearance, and security in central Tokyo is heightened. Well-wishers line up along the palace walls and in the surrounding Kōkyo-mae and Wadakura-bashi areas. Smaller public greetings are held in the afternoon at the palace gates.
Government offices, banks, and most businesses close. The Emperor and Empress may hold private meetings with members of the Imperial Family. The day is not a religious holiday, but shrines and temples occasionally hold related rites.
Legal status
February 23 is a national public holiday in Japan under the Holidays Act. The 2018 abdication-and- succession legislation (the Act on Special Exceptions of the Act on the Imperial Household Economy, the Act on the Imperial Household, and the Holidays Act) moved the Emperor's Birthday from December 23 to February 23 effective in 2020. The imperial succession ceremony itself - Kenji-to-Shokei-no-gi - took place on May 1, 2019, with Naruhito ascending the throne the same day.
Where it is contested
Emperor's Birthday is not politically contested in contemporary Japan. The 2018 abdication legislation was the subject of debate over the broader question of imperial succession and the legal framework for an abdication, but the resulting compromise - a one-time special abdication for Akihito and continued male-only succession - was broadly accepted.
Related Japanese holidays
Emperor's Birthday sits in the late-February cluster of the Japanese calendar, separated from the spring holidays by National Foundation Day on February 11. The day is also the third and final of the imperial-symbol dates on the Japanese public calendar, alongside the Emperor's Birthday and the imperial enthronement ceremonies.
Sources
- Cabinet Office of Japan - National Holidays(official list and history of national public holidays, including Emperor's Birthday).
- Imperial Household Agency - Imperial Activities(calendar of imperial ceremonies, including the Emperor's Birthday public appearance).
- Encyclopaedia Britannica - Emperor Naruhito(biography and 2019 succession).
- JapanGov(national public holidays, including the 2018 abdication and succession reforms).