Public holidays in Japan (国民の祝日, kokumin no shukujitsu) were established by the Public Holiday Law (国民の祝日に関する法律, Kokumin no Shukujitsu ni Kansuru Hōritsu) of 1948 (as amended). A provision of the law establishes that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day shall become a public holiday, known as furikae kyūjitsu (振替休日, literally "transfer holiday"). Additionally, any day that falls between two other national holidays shall also become a holiday, known as kokumin no kyūjitsu (国民の休日, literally "citizens' holiday"). May 4, sandwiched between Constitution Memorial Day on May 3 and Children's Day on May 5, was an annual example of such a holiday until it was replaced by Greenery Day in 2007.
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Prior to Japan's adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the dates of holidays were based on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thus, New Year's Day, for example, was celebrated at the beginning of spring, as it is in modern China, Korea and Vietnam. Japan has 15 national, government-recognized holidays. A 16th holiday has recently been approved by the upper house.
Holidays in 2017
The national holidays in 2017 are as follows.
Events of imperial mourning and celebration
In addition to the annual holidays listed above, certain events of celebration or mourning related to the imperial family are also treated as national holidays in the year in which they occur.
There have been four instances of such holidays since the introduction of the Public Holiday Law.
Recent changes
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:
In 2006, the country decided to add 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 Mountain Day (山の日, Yama no Hi) 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.