Japanese School Grade Chart (Birth Date to Grade)
Enter a date of birth to see which grade a child is in for a chosen school year, plus the entry and graduation years for kindergarten, elementary, junior high, high school, and university in Japan. You can also pick a grade and see which birth dates belong to it. This assumes Japan's school system, where the school year starts in April and children born from April 2 through April 1 of the next year share a grade. Early-born (hayaumare) children are handled. The school year defaults to the one containing today's date, so there is nothing to update each year. To work out exact age, try the Age Calculator, or convert years with the Japanese Era Converter.
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A school year runs from April to the following March. The default is the school year containing today.
Find the grade from a birth date
Date of birthFind the birth year from a grade
- School-year cohort
- Birth dates in this grade
- Calendar birth years
- Age at the start of the school year (April 1)
Grade chart
| Grade | Birth dates | Age on April 1 |
|---|
Notes
- This chart follows Japan's school system: the year starts in April, and children born Apr 2 through Apr 1 of the next year share a grade. It does not apply to systems that start in September, such as those in the US or Europe.
- Results assume a standard path. Repeated years, skipped grades, deferred entry, longer courses (such as 6-year medical programs), and graduate school are not taken into account.
- Kindergarten is shown as the three years nenshou, nenchuu, and nenchou starting at age 3. Nursery schools and certified child centers may use different names.
- A school year runs from April 1 to March 31. January through March belong to the previous school year, so it can differ from the calendar year by one.
Glossary
Hayaumare (early-born)
Children born from January 1 to April 1 are called hayaumare (early-born), and those born from April 2 to December 31 are late-born. An early-born child is one grade above a late-born child with the same birth year.
Why April 1 birthdays are early-born
Under Japan's age-calculation law, a person's age increases at the end of the day before their birthday. Someone born on April 1 therefore turns a year older on March 31, so they join the grade of children born from April 2 of the previous year.
School year (nendo)
The period from April 1 to March 31 of the next year. School grades advance each school year, and "FY 2026" means April 2026 through March 2027.
FAQ
Who counts as early-born (hayaumare) in Japan?
Anyone born from January 1 through April 1, including April 1 itself. Japanese law counts a person as a year older on the day before their birthday, so an April 1 baby ages on March 31 and joins the grade of children born from April 2 of the previous year.
Why are children born in the same year in different grades?
Japanese grades group children born from April 2 to April 1 of the next year. A child born in February 2015 (early-born) is one grade above a child born in May 2015. Enter a date of birth and the tool works this out for you.
Which school year should I enter?
The default is the school year (April to the following March) that contains today. For example, February 2027 belongs to school year 2026. You can enter a past or future year to see, for example, which birth dates will start elementary school in 2030.
Does this work for repeated years or schools outside Japan?
No. Results assume a standard path through the Japanese school system, without repeated years, skipped grades, or deferred entry. Schools abroad that start in September use different cut-off dates, so the grades will not match.
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