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Japanese greetings

Japanese New Year Greetings: What to Say and Write

Say “Happy New Year” in Japanese with the polite あけましておめでとうございます, learn the common follow-up, and choose wording for friends or formal contacts.

By ThatPainter Team 2 min read
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The standard polite way to say “Happy New Year” in Japanese is あけましておめでとうございます (Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu). A common follow-up is 今年もよろしくお願いします (Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu), which conveys goodwill and the hope of continuing a positive relationship in the year ahead.

Choose a greeting for the person you’re addressing

Japan Post pairs the standard greeting with 今年もよろしくお願いします in its New Year message examples. The follow-up is relationship-oriented: depending on context, it can express goodwill, continued support, or cooperation. It does not have one exact English equivalent.

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Japanese Pronunciation Best fit
あけましておめでとうございます Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu Polite, broadly useful greeting. [Japan Post]
今年もよろしくお願いします Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu Common follow-up expressing goodwill toward the relationship in the coming year. [Japan Post]
本年もよろしくお願いします Honnen mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu A somewhat more formal alternative to the follow-up. [Japan Post]

For a friend, a more relaxed message is あけましておめでとう!今年もよろしく。 (Akemashite omedetō! Kotoshi mo yoroshiku.). The Japan Foundation’s sample continues with また遊ぼうね! (“Let’s hang out again!”), making its friendly tone clear. [The Japan Foundation]

The same Foundation lesson shows the abbreviated message あけおめ〜/ことよろ! (Akeome / kotoshiyo-ro!). Treat this as casual shorthand, not a safe choice for a boss, client, teacher, or someone you do not know well. [The Japan Foundation]

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Write a card or send a digital message

年賀状 (nengajō) are Japanese New Year greeting postcards. The Embassy of Japan’s Japan Information & Culture Center describes them as cards sent to friends and relatives and delivered on New Year’s Day. [Japan Information & Culture Center]

To write a straightforward card, use the polite greeting, then add the relationship-oriented follow-up. Japan Post gives this pairing: 「あけましておめでとうございます 今年もよろしくお願いします」. [Japan Post]

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You do not need a physical card to send a New Year greeting. The Japan Foundation describes greetings shared through Messenger, LINE, other messaging apps, and social media, with examples ranging from polite messages to casual shorthand. [The Japan Foundation]

Japanese examples may use kanji or hiragana in different combinations. The spellings above follow the cited examples; they are not the only possible ways to write every phrase.

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When to use the greeting

Use あけましておめでとうございます once the new year has begun. The Japan Foundation describes nengajo as postcards posted near year-end and delivered together on January 1, while also noting digital greetings. Its material does not establish a universal nationwide cutoff date for saying the greeting, so it is better not to treat one particular end date as a firm rule. [The Japan Foundation]

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