2020 is the year of the Rat. The Rat is the first animal of the repeating 12-year cycle in the Chinese and Japanese zodiac. It is said that the Rat year is the year of chaos with many changes, which actually occurred. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our general lifestyle. We needed to adjust both our minds and lives themselves.

Let’s see what happened in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan, together with some Japanese annual events.

2020 = The Second Year of Reiwa Era

January

1 – 3  OSHOUGATSU = Japanese New Year Holiday

13  SEIJIN NO HI = Coming of Age Day, when all those turning 20 celebrated being new adults.

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Happy New Year in Japan. We had beautiful days during our new year’s holiday. Many people started to work in 2020 on Monday, the 6th of January. The rumor about this strange flu-like disease was started spreading around this time.

February     

  3  SETSUBUN = The day to celebrate the coming of spring by throwing roasted beans

11  KENKOKU KINEN BI = National Foundation Day

23  The REIWA Emperor’s Birthday

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Masks, toilet paper, thermometers, even rice started to be gone at stores, people making long queues to get them.

March

  3  HINA MATSURI = Dolls’ Festival / Girls’ Festival

20  SHUNBUN NO HI = Spring Equinox Day

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Some travelers still found in Tokyo, even people newly entered from overseas, including China. Most people in Japan knew about the Coronavirus but did not seem to take it seriously.

April

End of April to Beginning of May = Golden Week Holiday

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The Japanese government officially announced that we stay home, Japan going into a mild-lockdown nationwide. Many shops, stores, restaurants, schools closed but transport.

May

  3  KENPOU KINEN BI = Constitution Day

  4  MIDORI NO HI = Greenery Day

  5  KODOMO NO HI = Children’s Day

10  HAHA NO HI = Mother’s Day

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Japan started a long holiday together with the annual long golden week holiday and kept telling us to stay home. It is the time that the Blue Impulse Japan Air Self-Defense Force Acrobatic Team flew over central Tokyo’s blue sky to show respect and appreciation to all medical workers fighting against the Covid19.

June

21  CHICHI NO HI = Father’s Day

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Gradually people were back to the cities. Some schools, shops, and stores were still closed.

July

  7  TANABATA = Star Festival

23  UMI NO HI = Marine Day

24  SUPORTS NO HI = Sport’s day

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The 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo was planned to begin on July 24, but as everybody knew, it had to be rescheduled for 2021 July.

The government announced starting a GOTO travel campaign under limited conditions. They encouraged people to go travel to spend money in the market. It was a month with lots of rain.

August

Middle August  Obon season

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Less people moved to visit the graves during Obon season this year. Needed careful consideration of the joyful family reunion event this summer. The 2020 Olympics were supposed to close on 23 and start the 2020 Paralympics on 25. Many local festivals, such as BONODORI (dancing), MATSURI (festivals), and HANABI (fireworks) needed to stop due to the virus. The hot summer came as usual, and Tokyo seemed to be recovering day by day.

September

21  KEIROU NO HI = The day to show respect for the elderly

22  SYUUBUN NO HI = Autumn Equinox Day

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Typhoon season arrived as happens every year. People tired of self-restraint so started to go out gradually. Sadly, this month’s long holiday triggered the 2nd crisis of COVID19.

October

October is the only month that does not have significant holidays and national events. No national holidays in October as usual, very sad.

Followed by the GOTO travel campaign, the government started a GOTO eat campaign, while the number of patients began to increase again. Halloween event was downsized in the nation.

November

  3  BUNKA NO HI = Cultural Day

15  SHICHI GO SAN = Child Festival to celebrate their growth

23  KINRO KANSYA NO HI = Labor Thanksgiving Day

The number of patients kept increasing this month too. The nation was experiencing a kind of lockdown burnout.

December

31  OOMISOKA = New Year’s Eve

The COVID-19 is at a critical stage, even may call a new emergency stage, but people seem to carry on with their everyday lives. We all are waiting for vaccines and finding the cures as of Dec 5. It is said that the impact of the Coronavirus was minimal compared to other countries, but it was not obviously small at all, as it has affected the economy, politics, people’s daily lives seriously. 

The year of 2020 undoubtedly swayed by the crisis of Covid19, but “everything that has a beginning has an ending.” Keep your hopes up.

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Japantotheworld.com wishes you all happiness, good luck, and normal lives in 2021!!

2021 MO Japantotheworld.com WO YOROSHIKU NE.

YOI OTOSHI WO.