19th May 2024
Background to the April start
April brings with it new greenery and spring flowers outside and a new start for many people inside. This April start is very clear- cut1.
The fiscal year2 in Japan starts on April 1st. This is the start of both the government’s fiscal year and the fiscal year of most companies. People’s personal fiscal year in Japan starts from January 1st.
The history of this April start is connected to the government bringing the fiscal year forward from the summer in 1884 to help sort out3 their finances4. Japan did however have a system in the Edo period when spring was the start of the new financial year, so maybe they just felt it was natural to have a fiscal year starting in spring. Most people were farmers and they paid their tax in rice for the land they owned or used. The rice harvest5 was in the autumn and it took many months for the government to sort out the finances after this. A few months later, come the spring, when everything was sorted out, the new fiscal year could start.
Thinking about the schools, most schools started their school year* in the autumn in the early Meiji period but the military6 schools started in April. There is also the thinking that due to the military schools starting in April they usually got the best students. To stop the military schools getting all the best students, other schools also brought their school years forward to April.
In the Meiji period the parliament7 came to be based on the British system, so maybe Japan and its fiscal year were influenced by the UK which also has a government fiscal year starting in April.
school year* – the school year is also called an academic year.
The situation now
Thinking that an April start to things is not so common8 in the world and also thinking how clear-cut it is, it is a big part of the culture. Almost all schools, from day care to university, start in April and have their opening ceremonies in the first week of that month.
Most new recruits for companies start their new jobs on April 1st or the closest Monday to it in April. The difference between the new recruits and the rest of the workers you could also say is clear-cut. Many of the new recruits have to wear or feel pressure to wear new looking black suits. After a few weeks you see less new recruits wearing the black suits but young office workers wearing their new black suits are noticeable on the streets of Japan in this fourth month of the year.
Another reason the April start is so clear-cut is that many Japanese workers are transferred to different working places within their own company in this month, both in public and private working environments. Workers for banks or post-offices are transferred to different branches every few years at this time, as are many other workers such as train drivers, police officers, teachers, shop workers and office workers.
The companies or the government say it is so the workers can experience9 different working environments and this gives the workers more experience10. This is not the only reason for the rotation of the workers it seems though. What could be other reasons for transferring the workers? I wonder what you think.
If a worker has a family or lives with a partner, if they, that means the worker, is transferred to a place hours away from their home, they usually go to live in the new place alone. This is called 単身赴任 (tanshinfunin) in Japanese and is still a big part of the culture, although some people say it is decreasing.
The famous cherry blossom also blooms at this time of year in much of Japan and this cherry blossom is often talked about in the speeches made at the opening ceremonies of schools . Could this be one more reason that Japan chose April as the month to start things in do you think?
There is a big difference between new recruits and the workers that have to transfer to a different working place though. Many new recruits who are new graduates from university start looking for work almost two years before they are due to start work. Many get offered the job a year in advance, after having visited many different companies in their black suits, trying to get a job. On the other hand, workers that are transferred within their companies are often told at the last minute11 – in the worst cases sometimes only a week before they are transferred.
For some people April brings with it a nice, fresh start. They are happy to leave their old situation behind and they look forward to the challenges ahead. It can be stimulating12 starting something at the same time as a lot of other people. It can help create good team spirit. At school, children can look forward to meeting new classmates and making new friends. At work, workers can learn new skills and take on13 challenging tasks14 alongside others and they can feel the shared goals. Maybe the friendly rivalry that some will feel can help develop their talents.
Trying to fit in15 can sometimes take a lot of energy though and people can become burnt out from the pressure of the work and the new human relations.
One big recent change is remote working. As many companies introduced remote working, that is ‛working from home’ during Covid and have kept this system or expanded it since, the transfer or the rotation of the workers, if you want to call it that, has decreased in some industries. Due to more remote working, the causes of 五月病（satsukibyō) which is mental tiredness in May caused by work and what the new workers didn’t expect16 or sadly did expect, will be changing for many people. People can feel isolated17 from always being at home and not meeting people face to face and companies might not think about this so much.
One thing is true – April is a month when many people’s lives change a lot, for better or for worse.
<Example sentences>
3. to ‛sort ~ out’ / to ‛sort out ~’
■ There was a problem with my credit card so I phoned the credit card company to sort it out.
■ The office spent a lot of time trying to sort things out before the new fiscal year starts.
■ I’m wanting to give my old clothes to charity. Could you sort out your clothes this afternoon if you have time and I’ll take the ones you don’t want with me.
4. finances / financial / financially
■ Our finances are in trouble. You’ve been going out too much. No Ferrari and no going out for you next month!
■ The bank will give you a loan for your business if they think you don’t have financial problems.
■ Financially, do you think that company’s new building project is really possible?
8. common
■ Eye problems are common with workers who use a computer all day.
■ What is a common pet apart from cats and dogs do you think?
9. to experience ~
■ I think Monique experienced a lot of new things on her homestay. Did she tell you anything about her time abroad.
■ You asked me if I’ve ever experienced a typhoon. The answer is ‘no’ I haven’t. Have you?
10. experience
■ The player is old but his experience will help him.
■ Do you have any experience of working with animals?
11. at the last minute / leave ~ to/until the last minute
■ She always packs her suitcase at the last minute before travelling. That’s why she forgets things I think!
■ You shouldn’t always do your homework at the last minute.
You shouldn’t always leave your homework until the last minute.
You shouldn’t always leave your homework to the last minute.
■ Once again the band have cancelled their tour at the last minute. They’ve done this before and again all their fans are disappointed and are trying to get their money back for the tickets they’ve already bought.
12. stimulate / stimulating
■ He likes working in the new research department. It seems to stimulate him. He goes to work with a smile on his face every morning.
■ That was a stimulating speech. I really felt the passion that she has for her job.
13. to take on ~
■ I can’t take on any more projects. I already have five to do!
■ He likes taking on difficult tasks at work.
■ Do you want to take on the job of dealing with this new customer? It’s not an easy task but I think you’ll enjoy it.
14. task
■ She seems to enjoy doing tasks that other people don’t want to do.
■ The tasks I have at work now are very different to last year.
■ I’m sorry. That task is much too difficult for me. Is there anyone that could help me with it?
15. fit in / fit into ~
■ It’s a noisy class. I’m sure he’ll fit in well😁.
■ The football player left her new team after only two months. She had difficulty fitting in she said.
■ Schools usually start in (month) in our country. However I heard they start in (month) in (country). ~
■ Is there a clear-cut period for starting work in ~?
■ (Flower name / animal name ) are common where I come from. What about here?
■ Is there a common hobby for people these days do you think or do people do many different
things in your country?
■ Do you leave things to the last minute? I ~
■ Have you experienced any problems when travelling before? / since coming here? / because of
language difficulties ……. ?
■ Is there any task at work / at school that you enjoy?
■ Are people transferred a lot in (place name)?
■ What’s your image of the spring in (place name)?
- ‛clear-cut’ means a difference that is easy to notice.
- a ‛fiscal year’ is the yearly time period set for the planning of the use of money.
- to ‘sort something out’ means to put it in order, to make sure everything related to it is correct.
- ‘finances’ means the management of money and ‛financial’ is the adjective.
- ‛harvest’ means the gathering, the collecting of the crops (fruit, vegetables, grains such as rice or wheat) for eating.
- ‛military’ means connected to the armed forces – the army and navy and air force.
- ‛parliament’ means the structure of government. It also means the main government building.
- in this meaning ‛common’ means something that happens a lot.
- to ‛experience’ something means something happens to you or you feel something.
- to ‛get experience’ from something means to get skill or knowledge from doing something for some period of time.
- something that happens ‘at the last minute’ happens at the latest time it can happen.
- ‛stimulating’ means something gives you energy to do things more. You feel excited and interested in something.
- to ‛take on’ some work means to agree to do it, especially if it is quite difficult or will take time.
- a ‛task’ is a piece of work that is often a part of a bigger job.
- to ‛fit in’ to a new environment means to become part of it.
- ‛expect’ in this sentence means to think what will probably happen
- in this sentence ‛isolated’ means not having much contact with other people so you feel on your own in a bad way.