New year in Japan is very different from Canada/N.A. The month of December is dedicated to Bonenkai:

A bōnenkai (忘年会 literally “forget the year gathering”^?) is a Japanese drinking party that takes place at the end of the year, and is generally held among groups of co-workers or friends.^[1][2] The purpose of the party, as its name implies, is to forget the woes and troubles of the past year, and hopefully look to the new year, usually by consumption of large amounts of alcohol. A bōnenkai does not take place on any specific day, but they are usually held in December.^[1]

Now Shinnenkai and Shogatsu begin:

The Japanese New Year (正月 shōgatsu^?) is an annual festival with its own customs. The preceding days are quite busy, particularly the day before, known as Ōmisoka. The Japanese New Year has been celebrated since 1873 according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year (New Year’s Day where the Gregorian calendar is used). In Okinawa, the cultural New Year is still celebrated as the contemporary Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese New Years.

The Tokyo tower makes it official.