Windows 11 Japanese Date Format for IBM MQ Output

Windows 11’s date and time formatting for applications like IBM MQ is controlled by system locale settings and regional format configurations, which go beyond simply changing the display language in the Control Panel. The issue you’re experiencing occurs because IBM MQ reads the system’s locale settings to determine date/time formatting, and these settings may not be properly configured for Japanese date display even when the UI language is Japanese.

To configure Windows 11 to display date and time in Japanese format for IBM MQ output, you need to adjust both the regional format settings and potentially modify the system locale. Here’s a comprehensive solution:

Contents

• Understanding the Problem
• Configure Regional Format Settings
• Modify System Locale for Japanese
• Registry-Based Date Format Customization
• Verification and Testing
• Alternative Approaches
• Troubleshooting

Understanding the Problem

The date format discrepancy occurs because Windows uses multiple layers of localization settings. Even when you’ve set the system language to Japanese, applications like IBM MQ may still read date/time formatting from the system locale or regional format settings, which can remain in English format.

According to Microsoft’s documentation, applications use the Windows National Language Support API to determine formatting, and different components can read from different configuration sources.

Configure Regional Format Settings

Follow these steps to properly configure the regional format for Japanese date display:

1. Open Settings: Press Win + I to open Windows Settings
2. Navigate to Time & Language: Select “Time & language” from the left menu
3. Access Language & Region: Click on “Language & region”
4. Change Regional Format: Under “Regional format,” click “Change regional format”
5. Select Japanese Format: Choose “Japanese (Japan)” from the format dropdown
6. Customize Date Formats:
   • Click “Additional settings”
   • Go to the “Date” tab
   • Under “Short date,” select a Japanese format like yyyy年MM月dd日
   • Under “Long date,” select Japanese format if needed
   • Under “Time,” select H時mm分ss秒 format
7. Apply Changes: Click “OK” and “Apply” to save all settings

This configuration ensures that Windows system-wide date/time formatting uses Japanese conventions, which should be picked up by most applications including IBM MQ.

Modify System Locale for Japanese

The system locale determines which locale-specific applications use by default, which can override the regional format settings:

1. Open Control Panel: Press Win + R, type control panel, and press Enter
2. Navigate to Region: Select “Clock, Language, and Region” → “Region”
3. Change Administrative Language Settings: Click “Administrative” tab → “Change system locale…”
4. Select Japanese Locale: Choose “Japanese (Japan)” from the list
5. Apply and Restart: Click “OK” and restart your computer when prompted

As noted in the NinjaOne documentation, “changing the system locale will update the time and date format to regional defaults,” which should ensure consistent Japanese formatting across all applications.

Registry-Based Date Format Customization

If the above methods don’t work, you can directly modify the registry to enforce Japanese date formatting:

1. Open Registry Editor: Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter
2. Navigate to User Settings: Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International
3. Modify Date Format Values:
   • Double-click sShortDate and set to yyyy年MM月dd日
   • Double-click sLongDate and set to yyyy年MM月dd日 dddd
   • Double-click sTimeFormat and set to H:mm:ss
   • Double-click sShortTime and set to H:mm
   • Double-click sTimeSeparator and set to :
4. Navigate to System Settings: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Locale
5. Modify Default Locale: Find the 00000411 value (Japanese) and ensure it’s properly set

According to Windows 10 Help Forums, these registry values control how applications format dates and times when reading system configuration.

Verification and Testing

After making these changes, verify that the settings are working properly:

1. Test in Command Prompt: Open cmd and type date /t to see if it displays in Japanese format
2. Test PowerShell: Run Get-Date and check if it uses Japanese date format
3. Check System Tray: Verify that the clock in the system tray shows Japanese time format
4. Test IBM MQ: Run your MQ commands again and check if date/time output now appears in Japanese format

Alternative Approaches

If the system-wide changes don’t work for IBM MQ specifically, consider these alternatives:

Environment Variables

While Windows doesn’t directly support Linux-style LC_TIME variables, you can try:

• Setting LANG=ja_JP environment variable for the user or system
• Setting LC_ALL=ja_JP for comprehensive localization

Application-Specific Configuration

Check if IBM MQ has its own localization settings that can override system defaults:

• Look for configuration files or settings within MQ installation
• Check documentation for Japanese-specific formatting options

Code-Level Solutions

If you’re generating the MQ output programmatically, you can implement custom date formatting:

# Example for Python applications
import locale
locale.setlocale(locale.LC_TIME, 'ja_JP.UTF-8')
formatted_date = datetime.now().strftime('%Y年%m月%d日 %H時%M分%S秒')

Troubleshooting

If you’re still experiencing issues:

1. Check for Conflicting Settings: Ensure no other applications are overriding system locale settings
2. Verify Language Packs: Confirm that Japanese language pack is properly installed
3. Test on Clean Profile: Create a new user profile to test if the issue is profile-specific
4. Check Group Policies: If on a managed system, verify no group policies are interfering
5. Update Windows: Ensure you have the latest Windows updates, including Japanese locale updates

The Microsoft Support documentation mentions that specific Windows updates may be required for proper Japanese era and calendar support.

Conclusion

To get your IBM MQ output displaying dates and times in Japanese format like 2025年10月21日 08時21分32秒, you need to:

1. Configure regional format settings in Windows Settings to Japanese (Japan)
2. Modify the system locale to Japanese for application compatibility
3. Adjust registry values (sShortDate, sTimeFormat, etc.) if needed
4. Verify changes work in system applications before testing with MQ
5. Consider application-specific solutions if system changes aren’t sufficient

The key is ensuring that both the regional format (what the user sees) and system locale (what applications use) are properly configured for Japanese. This comprehensive approach should resolve the date formatting issue in your IBM MQ output.

Sources

1. Microsoft Learn - Prepare your application for the Japanese era change
2. Microsoft Support - How to prepare Windows and Office for the new Japanese era change
3. NinjaOne - How to Change System Locale in Windows
4. Windows 10 Help Forums - Change Date and Time Formats in Windows 10
5. Stack Overflow - Date & time not being shown in japanese
6. Microsoft Support - Summary of new Japanese era Windows updates