平成8年 (Heisei 8) is 1996 in the Western calendar. Check the age and zodiac below.
Yes. Heisei 8 (平成8年 in Japanese) corresponds to 1996 in the Western calendar.
1996 is the Year of the Rat (子（ね） in Japanese) in the 12-year zodiac cycle. In the older 60-year sexagenary cycle (kanshi) it is 丙子.
It depends on whether they have had their birthday yet this year. The box near the top of this page calculates both possible ages automatically from today's date — the lower number is their age before their birthday, the higher number is their age after.
Heisei 8 is written 平成8年 in Japanese. It is also commonly abbreviated H8 — for example on driver's licenses and other government forms.
