How does Japan mark Graduation Season?
Everyday topic
Japan's graduation season is March, because the school year ends on 31 March. The graduation ceremony is followed almost immediately by the entrance ceremony and the new year on 1 April, with only a spring break in between. The joint is tight: a diploma in March, then a new uniform, a new school and a new class in April, with company induction ceremonies falling in the same week. The second button, the farewell address and the parting songs all belong to March.The tightness of March also means the farewell has a deadline: the same class still exists up to 31 March and is recombined on 1 April, and even the homeroom teacher may be moved on by the annual staff transfer.
What is this topic?
Graduation does not fall in one universal month: Japan graduates in March before the April school year, Taiwan and mainland China mostly in June–July, US districts in May–June, India around March–May alongside board-exam results, Indonesia in May–June before its July school year, and Brazil in December. In mainland China, the gaokao and university choices can matter more than the ceremony; in India, results and admissions do the same, while Indonesia has only a short gap before registration for the next year. This guide compares the ceremony with the administrative next step.
Sources and dates
Dates follow local time zones, calendars, and official notices. Check the source when a date is estimated or locally variable.