25 years of Wikipedia

Wikipedia day is not a Japan exclusive holiday - it is celebrated in many countries. Typically, English speaking countries. But as we know by now, Japan loves its "day of xyz" and are all too happy to recognize January 15th annually as wikipedia day, or in Japanese, ウィキペディアの日.

This year's anniversary is a little more special than usual, because today, January 15th 2026 marks 25 years of wikipedia. The site was launched on this day in 2001. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is known around the globe. Today, it is available in more than 300 languages and is supported primarily through donations.

The name “Wikipedia” combines “wiki”, a system that allows users to edit web pages directly, and “encyclopedia”, reflecting its mission to provide open knowledge to the world. The term was coined by co‑founder Larry Sanger, who established the platform alongside Jimmy Wales. The icon of the site is a globe like jigsaw puzzle of letters of different origin, in black and white. Honing on the globe, and the global dominance of the site, I chose a photo of a globe to represent this post.