Formal to Acquaintance
Cultural · Seasonal
明けましておめでとうございます。本年もよろしくお願いいたします。 — Happy New Year! I look forward to working with you again this year. (Cultural · Seasonal, Formal to Acquaintance, JLPT N3)
You
明けましておめでとうございます。本年もよろしくお願いいたします。
あけましておめでとうございます。ほんねんもよろしくおねがいいたします。
Happy New Year! I look forward to working with you again this year.
Romaji: Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Honnen mo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu. / Reply Romaji: Omedetou gozaimasu. Kochira koso, douzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
Reply
おめでとうございます。こちらこそ、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
おめでとうございます。こちらこそ、どうぞよろしくおねがいいたします。
Happy New Year to you too. The pleasure is mine — I look forward to this year together.
Gesture & etiquette
Stand still and bow at 15–30 degrees depending on your relationship. For a superior, bow deeper (30 degrees). Say this with sincerity and deliberate pace — this is one of the most important ritual greetings in Japan, and rushing through it can seem disrespectful.
This phrase is only used after midnight on January 1st and through roughly mid-January (松の内, Jan 7 or 15 depending on region). Using it before New Year or too late in January is considered incorrect. The second clause 「よろしくお願いいたします」is essential — it expresses that you value the ongoing relationship.