The Emperor's Accession is a one-off national holiday in Japan, that will take place on May 1st 2019.
The holiday falls in Golden Week, which means that Saturday 27th April 2019 will the start of an unprecedented 10-day break in Japan.
History of the Emperor's Accession
Emperor Akihito of Japan will abdicate on April 30th 2019, making him the first Japanese Emperor to do so in over two hundred years.
Crown Prince Naruhito will become the new Emperor on May 1st 2019. The enthronement ceremony will likely happen on 22 October 2019, which will also be a one-off national holiday in Japan.
Each Japanese emperor's reign, or "gengo", is given a name which is then used alongside the Western calendar to mark the years.
Japan's current era, Heisei, will end with Emperor Akihito's abdication. The name of its new imperial era, which begins on May 1st, will be "Reiwa" which means order and harmony.
Golden Week
The first holiday of Golden Week is Showa Day. The Golden Week is a period when four national holidays fall within the space of seven days. The days which are holidays each year depend on how the holidays fall in combination with the two weekends either side of Golden Week. It has become a very popular and busy holiday season in Japan.
An unprecedented break
The long break is expected to bring positive economic effects, mainly in tourism and retailing, but there have also been concerns over possible issues in various areas and a lot of planning has taken place to ensure the holidays cause a minimum of disruption.
Public interest has been high on how medical institutions will respond. Major medical facilities and private clinics will cooperate to open in rotation to provide care to patients with minor symptoms. Patients with serious symptoms will be treated at emergency hospitals.
Parents who are unable to take all the holidays are looking for places that will take care of their children. To accommodate many children, the government has increased subsidies to nurseries that will provide temporary care and local governments aim to increase the capacity for the services as much as possible.
Banks will be closed during the upcoming holiday period, and ATMs will operate on a weekend schedule.
Small and midsize companies are concerned about a shortage of funds due to delays in receiving money from their clients. The Japan Finance Corporation plans to provide bridge loans outside a regular quota.
Foreign exchange markets are often greatly volatile when the Japanese market is closed. The yen surged during this year’s New Year holidays. The government, the Bank of Japan and other financial institutions must exercise great caution to prevent the markets from falling into disarray during not only the holiday period but also before and after the period.
