Japanese Résumé (Rirekisho) Education Dates Calculator | Early Birthdays, Gap Years, Repeated Years, Kōsen Transfer, Heisei 31 vs. Reiwa 1
The Japanese résumé education dates calculator lists dates such as junior high graduation, high school entry, and university graduation from your date of birth, in a form you can write directly into the education section (学歴欄) of a Japanese résumé (rirekisho). It automatically detects “early birthdays” (born January 1–April 1; April 1 also belongs to the previous school year) and reflects gap years, repeated years and leaves of absence, junior colleges and vocational schools (1–4 years), 6-year universities (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary), kōsen (5-year technical colleges) with third-year university transfer or advanced courses, master’s and doctoral programs, withdrawal, and September graduation. Graduations after the document date are automatically written as “expected graduation” (卒業見込み), and March and April 2019 are written as “Heisei 31” (平成31年), not “Reiwa 1” (令和元年). You can also switch full-width or half-width digits and “元年 / 1年”. It includes a chart of entry and graduation years by birth cohort, and copying that pastes straight into Excel or Word.
Date of birth & document date
Japanese school years run from April 2 births to the following April 1 births. People born January 1–April 1 (early birthdays) are in the same grade as those born the previous year.
Graduations after the document date become “卒業見込み” (expected graduation), and schools not yet entered aren’t listed. Match it to the submission or interview date to also check your age (満◯歳).
School-year cohort
2002 school-year cohort
Age on document date
Age 23
Date of birth (Japanese era)
平成15年2月14日
Education path
Gap years, repeated years, and leaves add years. Withdrawal applies to the last school entered by the document date.
Gap years (from high school or kōsen graduation to next entry)
Repeated years / leave at High school
Repeated years / leave at university, junior college, vocational school, or advanced course
School names (optional)
Blanks stay as “○○”. On a Japanese résumé, don’t abbreviate words like 県立 (prefectural) or 市立 (municipal), and write high schools with the full name 高等学校.
Résumé education section
This order can be copied as is. Keep Western or Japanese era years consistent across the whole résumé (date of birth, document date, licenses).
| Year | Month | 学歴・職歴 (education & work) |
|---|---|---|
| 学歴 (education) | ||
| 平成30年 | 3 | ○○市立○○中学校卒業 |
| 平成30年 | 4 | ○○県立○○高等学校 普通科入学 |
| 令和3年 | 3 | ○○県立○○高等学校 普通科卒業 |
| 令和3年 | 4 | ○○大学 ○○学部 ○○学科入学 |
| 令和7年 | 3 | ○○大学 ○○学部 ○○学科卒業 |
| 職歴 (work history) | ||
| (write your work history, then end with “以上” aligned right) |
Assumptions
- Calculated with Japanese schools’ April entry and March graduation. If your years differ due to grade skipping, overseas schools, or correspondence or part-time programs, add years to adjust.
- Japanese era years use the era covering most of the month (April 2019 is Heisei 31; from May, Reiwa 1).
- Confirm actual entry and graduation dates with your graduation certificate or the records of the schools you attended.
Your date of birth and school names are only saved in this browser and not sent to a server. School names aren’t included in the share URL.
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About Japanese Résumé (Rirekisho) Education Dates Calculator | Early Birthdays, Gap Years, Repeated Years, Kōsen Transfer, Heisei 31 vs. Reiwa 1
The Japanese résumé education dates calculator lists the year and month of junior high graduation, high school entry and graduation, university entry and graduation, and more, just from your date of birth, in a form you can copy into the education section of a Japanese résumé in either Japanese era or Western years. Japanese school years run from “April 2 births to the following April 1 births”, so people born January 1–April 1 (early birthdays) are in the same grade as those born the previous year; for example, people born in March 2001 and May 2000 both graduate high school in March 2019 (Heisei 31). It reflects gap years, repeated years, and leaves of absence, junior colleges (2 years), vocational schools (1–4 years), 6-year universities (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary), kōsen (5 years) with third-year university transfer and advanced courses, master’s and doctoral programs, withdrawal, and September graduation, and automatically writes graduations after the document date as “expected graduation” (卒業見込み) and completions as “expected completion” (修了見込み). In the Japanese calendar, Heisei lasted through April 2019 and Reiwa began on May 1, so March 2019 graduation and April entry are shown as “Heisei 31”. You can also switch full-width and half-width digits and how to write “元年 (first year)” vs. “1年”, and there’s a chart of entry and graduation years by birth cohort.
How to use Japanese Résumé (Rirekisho) Education Dates Calculator | Early Birthdays, Gap Years, Repeated Years, Kōsen Transfer, Heisei 31 vs. Reiwa 1
- 1Enter your date of birth (Western year) and check your school-year cohort, whether it’s an early birthday, and your age on the document date
- 2Enter the date you’ll submit the résumé (document date). If blank, today’s date is used to judge “expected graduation”
- 3Choose your path after junior high (high school or kōsen), after high school (university, junior college, vocational school, etc.), and graduate school
- 4Enter any gap years, repeated years, or leaves of absence, and any withdrawal or September graduation
- 5Enter school names to reflect them in the education section sample (blanks stay as “○○”)
- 6Choose Japanese era or Western years and full-width digits, then paste into an Excel or Word résumé with “Copy education history”, or write it by hand following the sample
Great for
- You can’t remember which year you graduated high school or university for a résumé’s education section
- You have an early birthday and your graduation year differs from others born the same year, so you want the correct year
- You were born on April 1 and want to confirm which school year you belong to
- You want to calculate graduation years after one or two gap years, repeated years, or leaves of absence
- You want to know how to write a transfer from kōsen into the third year of university, and the years
- You want to calculate completion years for a 6-year pharmacy program or master’s and doctoral programs
- You’re unsure whether to write March 2019 graduation as “Heisei 31” or “Reiwa 1”
- You want to write your education correctly on job-hunting, career-change, or part-time application documents and entry sheets
Good to know
- Calculations assume Japanese schools with April entry and March graduation. If your years in school differ due to skipping grades, overseas schools, or correspondence or part-time programs, adjust with the repeated-year or leave settings.
- Early birthdays are “born January 1–April 1”. Under Japanese law, age increases on the day before your birthday, so people born on April 1 turn 6 on March 31 and join the previous school year.
- Japanese era years are written by the era covering most of the month. April 2019 is Heisei 31, from May 2019 it’s Reiwa 1, and January 1989 is Shōwa 64.
- On a Japanese résumé, keep Japanese era or Western years consistent across the whole sheet, including the date of birth, document date, and licenses and qualifications.
- Dates of birth and school names you enter are saved only in this device’s browser and not sent to a server. School names aren’t included in the share URL.
- Before submitting, confirm actual entry and graduation dates with your graduation certificate, yearbook, or similar.
Questions this tool answers
Use Japanese Résumé (Rirekisho) Education Dates Calculator | Early Birthdays, Gap Years, Repeated Years, Kōsen Transfer, Heisei 31 vs. Reiwa 1 for searches like these:
- I want to calculate entry and graduation years for a résumé’s education section from my date of birth
- I want to know the correct graduation year with an early birthday
- I want to check the school year for an April 1 birthday
- I want to know my university graduation year after a gap or repeated year
- I want to know how to write education after transferring from kōsen to university
- I want to know whether to write Heisei 31 or Reiwa 1
- I want to know how to write expected graduation
- I want to see a chart of entry and graduation years by birth year
FAQ
- How does an early birthday change my graduation year?
- People with early birthdays (January 1–April 1) are in the same grade as those born from April 2 of the previous year. For example, someone born in February 2001 is in the cohort born April 2, 2000–April 1, 2001, graduating junior high in March 2016, high school in March 2019, and a 4-year university in March 2023 with no gap or repeated years. People born from April 2, 2001 graduate one year later at each stage.
- Is April 1 an early birthday?
- Yes. April 1 births count as early birthdays and join the previous school year. Under Japan’s law on age calculation, age increases at the end of the day before your birthday, so someone born on April 1 turns 6 on March 31 and enters elementary school that April. That’s why school years run “April 2–April 1” rather than “April 1–March 31”.
- Is a March 2019 graduation “Heisei 31” or “Reiwa 1”?
- It’s Heisei 31 (平成31年3月). Reiwa began on May 1, 2019, so both March 2019 graduation and April 2019 entry are written as Heisei 31. “Reiwa 1” is for events from May to December 2019; a September 2019 graduation would be Reiwa 1 (令和元年9月).
- Should I write a gap year (rōnin) on my résumé?
- A gap year isn’t education, so you don’t write “rōnin” in the education section. If you write your high school graduation and university entry dates correctly, the one-year gap is evident. With one gap year, university entry and graduation are each a year later, so you graduate a year after those with no gap or repeated years.
- How do I write a transfer from kōsen to university?
- After writing your kōsen entry and graduation, write “○○大学 ○○学部 ○○学科 3年次編入学” (third-year transfer admission), followed by your graduation date. Kōsen is a 5-year program, so you graduate in March five years after junior high; transferring into the third year of university that April means graduating in March two years later. With no gap or repeated years, that’s the same year as classmates who went from high school to a 4-year university.
- When can I write “expected graduation”?
- If you’re enrolled and expect to graduate from that school, write “卒業見込み” (expected graduation). In new-graduate job hunting, it’s common to write your expected graduation date even before your final year, as “○年○月 ○○大学 ○○学部 卒業見込み”. For graduate school, write “修了見込み” (expected completion). This tool automatically marks graduations and completions after the document date as “expected”.
- Do I write education from elementary school on a résumé?
- Generally you start with “junior high school graduation”, followed by high school entry and graduation, then university and so on. If you have a long work history and run out of space, you may start from high school entry; if detailed education is requested, you start from elementary school. This tool lets you switch whether to include elementary and junior high entry.
- When do 6-year pharmacy programs and graduate school finish?
- Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy (6-year), and veterinary programs graduate in March six years after entry. Graduate school is 2 years for a master’s (first half of a doctoral program), 3 years for the latter doctoral program, and 4 years for doctoral programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine. With no gap or repeated years, you complete a master’s two years after graduating a 4-year university, the same year as a 6-year university graduation.
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