A String of Tens: The 'Showa 100' Moment Goes Viral on X in Japan on October 10, 2025, 10:10 AM

On October 10, 2025, at 10:10 AM, a special moment — "Showa 100, October 10, 10:10 AM" — became a major topic on X (formerly Twitter), quickly becoming a trending topic. This date marked the 100th year since the start of the Showa era (1926). Many users were captivated by the "zorome" (repeating digits) sequence, where the year (Showa 100), month, day, hour, and minute all aligned to "10," creating a wave of excitement across Japan.

Amidst rising expectations of this being a "once-in-a-lifetime miraculous moment" and "a numerical alignment that feels like divine design," many users attempted to capture this precious instant by taking screenshots of their smartphone or PC clock displays. Social media was flooded with posts sharing their joy, such as "Got it!" and clapping emojis. Some even self-deprecatingly reported their success with comments like, "I've done something incredibly idle 😁😁😁."

Conversely, numerous voices lamented missing the moment. Posts expressed regret for accidentally overlooking it amidst daily life, with comments like "Missed it!" "I was just sleeping normally," "I was at work," and "I completely forgot because the MLB Wild Card game was too exciting." Some even shared stories of near misses, such as "Too bad I missed it by a minute, but I managed to get a nice view near the port."

This surge of excitement wasn't merely due to a numerical coincidence. It's also believed that the nostalgia associated with the "Showa" era name, even in the Reiwa era, and a yearning for the past, stirred people's hearts. As one post aptly put it, "A day that, if you know about it, evokes a mysterious sense of specialness and nostalgia," reaffirming that "Showa" holds significant meaning for many.

Furthermore, users who missed this "zorome" moment also expressed anticipation for future numerical alignments, such as "Next time: Showa 111, November 11, 11:11 AM" and "See you on Showa 114, May 14, 7:19 PM," showing a penchant for finding small joys in the future. While there were some calm opinions like, "Why are people still fixated on Showa?", overall, this unique "string of 10s" moment provided many people with a temporary smile and a conversation starter for the day.

The context

To understand the significance of this event for non-Japanese readers, it's essential to know about Japan's unique calendar system. In addition to the Gregorian calendar (e.g., 2025), Japan also uses a system of era names, or gengō, tied to the reign of the emperor. The current era is Reiwa, which began in 2019. Before that was the Heisei era (1989-2019), and prior to that was the Showa era (1926-1989).

The Showa era was the longest in modern Japanese history, spanning 63 years and encompassing significant historical events like World War II and Japan's post-war economic boom. Consequently, many Japanese people alive today were born during Showa or have strong connections to that period, fostering a deep sense of nostalgia and cultural attachment to the era name. Even though it's currently the Reiwa era, people commonly refer to dates using past era names, especially for personal milestones.

"Showa 100" refers to the 100th year since the Showa era began. Since Showa 1 started in 1926, the 100th year is 2025 (1926 + 99 = 2025). The excitement stemmed from the confluence of "Showa 100" with October 10, 10:10 AM, creating a rare instance where the era year, month, day, hour, and minute all aligned with the number 10. This type of numerical alignment, especially with repeating digits, is known as "zorome" (ゾロ目) in Japanese, and it often carries a playful, sometimes lucky, connotation, making such moments particularly engaging for the public.