Japanese & Western Calendars

Today, in Japan there are two systems of counting the years. The traditional Japanese years are based on the emperor. When a new emperor takes the role, a new era or period begins in Japan: The current Emperor has reigned for 14 years. He called his era 'Heisei.' So, this year (2008) is Heisei 20.

Up until the present:

The below shows a chart comparing Japanese and Western recent years.
Do you know your birthday by the Japanese calendar?

This year is heisei 18 (juu shichi). The Heisei era started in 1989 and before that was the Showa era. I was born in 1973 so my birth year is showa 48!