A few national holidays have been moved this summer to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics, but many calendars and diaries in circulation do not reflect the shift. Members of the public will need to take care to avoid mistaking weekdays for days off.
This year, Marine Day was moved from July 19 to July 22, the day before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. Sports Day was switched from Oct. 11 to July 23, the day of the opening ceremony, and Mountain Day was moved from Aug. 11 to Aug. 8, the day of the closing ceremony.
As a result, days that were originally holidays, including July 19, are now regular weekdays.
The aim was to ease traffic congestion resulting from commuting and other factors, and make it easier for athletes to get around, by increasing the number of national holidays before and after the opening and closing ceremonies.
The changes were made official through the revised special measures law for the Games, which was passed on Nov. 27, 2020. However, since sales of calendars and diaries usually peak in December, many were shipped without reflecting the altered holidays.
The Cabinet Public Relations Office posted on its official Twitter page, "Beware of misunderstandings about holidays!"
An official in charge said, "We want to continue our efforts to make people more aware of these holidays, since they directly affect people's lives."
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