Year in Japan
2004 in Japanese History
2 recorded entries for this year. It falls in the Heisei period (平成時代, 1989 – 2019).
Era name: Heisei era 平成 (year 16 of the era)
What happened 出来事
- Oct 23 Chūetsu Earthquake 新潟県中越地震 · Natural disaster — earthquake occurred in Niigata Prefecture, Japan on October 23, 2004
- Chichu Art Museum 地中美術館 · Historic site — museum in Japan
Reading the year 2004 in Japanese
Japanese sources from this period date events by era name, not by the Western calendar. 2004 corresponds to Heisei era 平成 (year 16 of the era). Years are written with 年 (ねん, nen) — so 1600 appears as 慶長5年, "the fifth year of Keichō".
The year itself is read 2004年 (2004ねん) in modern Japanese. Browse the full timeline to see where this year sits in the wider arc, or the 21st century for its neighbours.