What time is it in Japan?
Quick answer
Japan uses Japan Standard Time (JST), which is UTC+9, everywhere in the country and all year round. The live clock below shows the current time in Tokyo and how far ahead or behind you it is.
Tokyo, Japan
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One time zone for the whole country
Japan stretches about 3,000 km (1,900 miles) from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south, but every island runs on the same clock. Sapporo, Osaka and Naha all share Tokyo’s time.
Does Japan have daylight saving time?
No. Japan tried it from 1948 to 1951, during the postwar occupation, then dropped it. The idea comes up regularly, for example ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but it has never returned. That makes Japan easy: the difference from countries without daylight saving stays the same all year.
Japan time vs other places
| City | Difference from Tokyo |
|---|---|
| London | Tokyo is 9 hours ahead (8 in British summer) |
| New York | Tokyo is 14 hours ahead (13 in US summer) |
| Los Angeles | Tokyo is 17 hours ahead (16 in US summer) |
| Sydney | Tokyo is 1 hour behind (2 in Australian summer) |
| New Delhi | Tokyo is 3.5 hours ahead |
Because Japan is so far east, it’s one of the first major countries to start each new day. When it’s midnight in Tokyo, it’s still 10 a.m. the previous day in New York in winter.
Planning a call to Europe instead? Here’s what time it is in London.
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