Converter · ET → JST (UTC+9)

EST to JST

Japan Standard Time is 14 hours ahead of EST and 13 hours ahead of EDT. 7:00 PM in New York is 9:00 AM the next morning in Tokyo in winter, and 8:00 AM in summer.

Now in New York
--:-- ET
Now in Tokyo
--:-- JST
Difference now
+14 h
Gap changes next (ET side)
Second Sunday in March

How many hours ahead is Tokyo of New York?

JST is UTC+9 and never changes. Eastern Time is UTC−5 in winter and UTC−4 in summer, so Tokyo is 14 hours ahead from early November to mid-March and 13 hours ahead from mid-March to early November. Japan has no daylight saving time, so the gap moves only on the American dates: in 2027, on March 14 and November 7.

A shortcut for mental maths: subtract 10 hours, then add a day (in summer, subtract 11). 8:00 PM EST minus 10 hours is 10:00 AM; a day later, that is Tokyo's time. If you prefer to go through UTC, the EST to UTC page covers the first step.

One Wednesday in New York on EST drawn against Tokyo time: Tokyo is already on Thursday from 10:00 AM in New York, and the Tokyo working day of 9 AM to 5 PM falls between 7 PM and 3 AM New York time New YorkTokyo 9 AM–5 PM Wednesday (EST) 2–5 PM9 AM–2 PM Tokyo: Wednesday afternoonTokyo: Thursday Tokyo midnight = 10:00 AM in New York 12 AM6 AM12 PM6 PM12 AM New York clock along the top · blue = Tokyo office hours
A New York weekday on EST against Tokyo's clock. On EDT, shift Tokyo one hour left.

Why is evening in New York already tomorrow in Tokyo?

Tokyo's day starts 14 hours before New York's. When it is midnight in Tokyo, it is 10:00 AM EST (11:00 AM EDT) in New York, so for most of the American day Japan is already on the next date. The two cities share a calendar date only from midnight to 10:00 AM in New York: 10 hours a day in winter, 11 in summer.

That shift matters more than the hour count:

  • A Friday-evening email from New York lands on Saturday morning in Japan: Friday 6:00 PM EST is Saturday 8:00 AM JST.
  • Monday morning in Tokyo is Sunday evening in New York: Monday 9:00 AM JST is Sunday 7:00 PM EST or 8:00 PM EDT.
  • "Close of business Friday, Tokyo time" (5:00 PM JST) is 3:00 AM EST on Friday, before the US workday has started.
  • A launch or ticket sale set for 10:00 AM on the 15th in Japan happens on the evening of the 14th in New York: 8:00 PM EST or 9:00 PM EDT.

EST to JST conversion table

Every New York time from 10:00 AM EST (11:00 AM EDT) onward is the next day in Tokyo; the table marks it.

Eastern Time to Japan Standard Time, hour by hour. Highlighted: New York evening hours that fall in the Tokyo morning (8 AM–noon) in both seasons.
Eastern (ET)JST while ET is on EST (early Nov – mid Mar)JST while ET is on EDT (mid Mar – early Nov)
12:00 AM2:00 PM1:00 PM
1:00 AM3:00 PM2:00 PM
2:00 AM4:00 PM3:00 PM
3:00 AM5:00 PM4:00 PM
4:00 AM6:00 PM5:00 PM
5:00 AM7:00 PM6:00 PM
6:00 AM8:00 PM7:00 PM
7:00 AM9:00 PM8:00 PM
8:00 AM10:00 PM9:00 PM
9:00 AM11:00 PM10:00 PM
10:00 AM12:00 AM (next day)11:00 PM
11:00 AM1:00 AM (next day)12:00 AM (next day)
12:00 PM2:00 AM (next day)1:00 AM (next day)
1:00 PM3:00 AM (next day)2:00 AM (next day)
2:00 PM4:00 AM (next day)3:00 AM (next day)
3:00 PM5:00 AM (next day)4:00 AM (next day)
4:00 PM6:00 AM (next day)5:00 AM (next day)
5:00 PM7:00 AM (next day)6:00 AM (next day)
6:00 PM8:00 AM (next day)7:00 AM (next day)
7:00 PM9:00 AM (next day)8:00 AM (next day)
8:00 PM10:00 AM (next day)9:00 AM (next day)
9:00 PM11:00 AM (next day)10:00 AM (next day)
10:00 PM12:00 PM (next day)11:00 AM (next day)
11:00 PM1:00 PM (next day)12:00 PM (next day)

Convert any Eastern time to Japan Standard Time

The converter shows the Tokyo date as well as the time, so the day shift is never lost. Seoul is listed too; it always matches Tokyo.

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When is the best time for a New York–Tokyo meeting?

Two 9-to-5 days never overlap, so the usual compromise puts New York's evening against Tokyo's morning. 7:00–9:00 PM EST is 9:00–11:00 AM JST, a comfortable start to the Japanese day. In summer the same New York hours become 8:00–10:00 AM in Tokyo, so many teams shift the call to 8:00 PM EDT (9:00 AM JST). The reverse slot, New York's early morning, lands late in Tokyo: 7:00 AM EST is 9:00 PM JST.

Avoid Friday evenings in New York, which are Saturday in Japan, and expect a quiet stretch around Golden Week, the cluster of Japanese public holidays from late April into early May. Sydney's working morning starts one to two hours earlier in New York terms than Tokyo's (see EST to AEST); the converter hub compares all three cities on any date.

Does Japan use daylight saving time?

No. Japan tried it once, under the Allied occupation: from 1948 to 1951 clocks went forward an hour each spring (in May, or April in 1949) and back in September. It was unpopular, partly because people felt it simply lengthened the working day, and the law was abolished in 1952. Proposals to bring it back have surfaced repeatedly since, but none has been adopted.

The case for it is strongest in the north. Calculated for June 21, the sun rises at about 3:55 AM JST in Sapporo and 4:26 AM in Tokyo, hours before most people are awake. For anyone converting from New York, the absence of DST is a gift: only the US switches change the answer, exactly as with India and China.

Why does all of Japan share one time zone?

Japan set a national standard time by an imperial ordinance of 1886, effective 1 January 1888: nine hours ahead of Greenwich, based on the meridian of 135°E. That line runs through Akashi, near Kobe, which calls itself the "town of time" and has a planetarium built on the meridian.

The main islands span only about 129°E to 146°E, little more than an hour of solar time, so one zone fits well. On June 21 solar noon comes at about 11:36 AM in Sapporo, 11:43 AM in Tokyo, 12:02 PM in Akashi, 12:20 PM in Fukuoka and 12:31 PM in Naha, Okinawa. Compare that with China, which squeezes four hours of sun into a single clock. For the New York side of any conversion, the live Eastern Time clock is the reference.

Frequently asked questions

Is Seoul on the same time as Tokyo?

Yes. Korea Standard Time is also UTC+9, and South Korea has not used daylight saving time since 1988, so Seoul and Tokyo always show the same time: 14 hours ahead of EST and 13 ahead of EDT.

What is 9:00 AM JST in Eastern Time?

7:00 PM EST or 8:00 PM EDT on the previous day.

How far ahead of California and Chicago is Japan?

17 hours ahead of PST and 16 hours ahead of PDT; 15 hours ahead of Central Standard Time and 14 hours ahead of Central Daylight Time.

When does the Tokyo Stock Exchange trade in New York time?

The morning session opens at 9:00 AM JST, which is 7:00 PM EST (8:00 PM EDT) the previous evening. After a lunch break from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM JST, trading closes at 3:30 PM JST, which is 1:30 AM EST or 2:30 AM EDT.

Is Okinawa on the same time as Tokyo?

Yes. Every part of Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa and the Ogasawara Islands, uses JST. The IANA zone is Asia/Tokyo.

Explore

EST to AEST

Sydney's gap swings between 14, 15 and 16 hours.

EST to IST

India's half-hour offset, 10½ or 9½ hours ahead.

EST to UTC

The reference every other conversion starts from.