is a

public holiday in Japan were established by the 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 . Additionally, any day that falls between two other na ...

celebrated annually to honor

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

citizens. It started in 1966 as a national holiday and was held on every September 15. Since 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September due to the

Happy Monday System The is a set of modifications to Japanese law in 1998 and 2001 to move a number of public holidays in Japan to Mondays, creating three-day weekends for those with five-day work weeks. It is the Japanese equivalent of the 1968 Uniform Monday Ho ...

. This national holiday traces its origins to 1947, when Nomadani-mura (later Yachiyo-cho, currently Taka-cho),

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

, proclaimed September 15 Old Folks' Day (Toshiyori no Hi). Its popularity spread nationwide, and in 1966 it took its present name and status. Annually,

Japanese media The mass media in Japan include numerous television and radio networks as well as newspapers and magazines in Japan. For the most part, television networks were established based on capital investments by existing radio networks. Variety shows, ...

take the opportunity to feature the elderly, reporting on the population and highlighting the oldest people in the country.

Commemorative silver sake cups

Since 1963, the

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, ...

has given a commemorative silver sake cup to Japanese who reach the age of 100. In 1963, the number was 153, but with numbers increasing, the government decided to reduce the size of the cup to cut costs in 2009. In 2014, 29,357 received a cup. In 2017, Japan honored 32,097 people (27,461 women and 4,636 men) who turned 100 years old; they each received congratulatory letter and souvenir sake cup from the Prime Minister. According to this report the solid sterling silver cups were replaced with nickel alloy silver plated design which halved the per-unit cost, saving $1-million in the annual budget.

Celebration

On this holiday, people return home to visit and pay respect to the elders. Some people volunteer in neighborhoods by making and distributing free lunch boxes to older citizens. Entertainment is sometimes provided by teenagers and children with various keirokai performances. Special television programs are also featured by Japanese media on this holiday.

References

External links

Senior Citizens Are Living Treasures Respect for the Aged Day
1966 establishments in Japan Public holidays in Japan Old age in Japan Recurring events established in 1966 September observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Monday {{holiday-stub