In a much-awaited moment that heralded the approach of a new chapter in Japan’s history, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday that the new Imperial era will be named Reiwa, in one of the final steps toward initiating the nation’s first Imperial succession in three decades.

Holding up a placard that displayed the kanji characters for the new era, Suga said the name was formulated based on the introduction to a set of poems from “Manyoshu,” the oldest existing compilation of Japanese poetry. The first character represents “good fortune,” while the second can be translated as “peace” or “harmony.”

The new era will be the 248th in the history of Japan, which has used the Chinese-style system for indicating the year since 645. In modern times, each era has run the length of an emperor’s reign. This is said to be the first time that the characters chosen were drawn from Japanese classical literature, with prior era names, or gengō, having used kanji from Chinese literature.

The poem from which they are taken describes an ume Japanese apricot flower in full bloom in early spring after surviving a cold winter.

The new era will start on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, a day earlier.

The arrival of the Reiwa Era will in turn end the 30-year run of the Heisei (“achieving peace”) Era, which began in Jan. 8, 1989.

Later on Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a news conference that the government chose the kanji characters because they signify “a culture being born and nurtured by people coming together beautifully.”

He also pointed out that “Manyoshu,” which was compiled more than 1,200 years ago, contained poems by people of various social status, including emperors, noblemen and noblewomen, warriors and ordinary farmers. “I hope the new era name will take root among the public and be widely accepted by the people,” Abe said.

In addressing the nation after Suga’s announcement, Abe said Reiwa reflects his hope that it will “help pass Japan’s long history, noble culture and beautiful, four-season nature down to the next generations.”

“I hope each and every one of the Japanese people can bloom their own magnificent flowers — this is the kind of Japan I had in my mind when I settled on the name Reiwa.”

Citing Reiwa’s connection with the ume flower, Abe referred to “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana (The One and Only Flower in the World),” a smash-hit song sung by boy band SMAP that became one of the best-selling hits of the Heisei Era.

Noting how today’s tech-savvy youth have the potential to “create a new movement” and break through the status quo in society, Abe said, “I hope the next era will see these people from a younger generation fulfill their potential as they move toward realizing their hopes and dreams.”

The naming of a new Imperial era is a significant event here, with such names playing an integral role, both practically and psychologically, in the lives of Japanese people.

With gengō often seen as reflective of the zeitgeist, speculation had been rife about what the new era would be named.

In a nation where gengō have long been cherished as a way of identifying a year — as in Heisei 31, which corresponds to 2019 in the current era — in official documents and computer systems, its change has far-reaching practical implications.

Local municipality officials, computer engineers and calendar manufacturers, for example, have spent months preparing for the various adjustments involved.

On Monday, Reiwa was approved by Abe’s Cabinet after undergoing scrutiny by a group of representatives from the business community, media and education industry, as well as chairpersons of the legislature.

It is the first time that particular kanji for “rei” was chosen for an era name, according to a Japanese official.

The private sector representatives invited to pore over the shortlist included novelist Mariko Hayashi; Shinya Yamanaka, a Nobel Prize-winning researcher at Kyoto University who developed iPS cells; Itsuro Terada, former chief justice of the Supreme Court; and Ryoichi Ueda, chairman of public broadcaster NHK.

After the next era name was announced, Yamanaka told reporters he thinks of the new gengō as a combination of the new and old. The first-ever use of the kanji “rei” and the nostalgic touch evoked by “wa” — the same character that was used in Showa — makes the forthcoming gengō “perfectly befitting today’s Japan, which both cherishes tradition and strives to try out new things,” he was quoted as telling reporters.

The Manyoshu passage that inspired Reiwa was written by poet Otomo no Tabito as an introduction to 32 ume-themed poems penned by his poet friends, according to officials. In the introduction, “rei” was used to refer to “reigetsu,” or “auspicious month,” while “wa” described the peaceful manner of an early spring breeze.

Having never been used before, the choice of “rei” came as a surprise for many.

Many Japanese people are not familiar with use of “rei” to mean “good fortune” or “auspicious.” For most, the first phrase that comes to mind is likely to be “meirei,” which literally means an order or command from a supervisor.

Some took to Twitter to express their confusion over what they said was “meirei no rei” or “(‘rei’ as in command)” — causing the keyword to briefly trend over social network services.

Masaharu Mizukami, a professor of Chinese and Japanese literature at Chuo University, said the choice of “rei” makes sense given positive phrases such as “reijō” and “reisoku” — a respectable way of referring to someone’s daughter or son, respectively.

But on the other hand, “rei” has a history of being screened out in the past due to its authoritative implications, Mizukami said.

In the twilight years of the Tokugawa shogunate, the era name Reitoku was once presented as a candidate, only to elicit strenuous opposition from the Tokugawa-led government because the proposed gengō — with “toku” naturally representing the shogunate — could have been read as “commanding Tokugawa,” the professor said.

Meanwhile, according to Asao Kure, an associate professor at Kyoto Sangyo University who specializes in legal history and is an expert on Imperial era names, people shouldn’t focus too much on the meanings associated with one kanji that constitutes the gengō.

What is more important is what classical text the gengō draws from, as well as how the two kanji compliment each other, he explained.

“The new era name draws on text about nature, which is unlike the previous era names,” he said.

“Past era names have usually posited specific political principles, but ‘Reiwa’ instead puts forth a new kind of social philosophy inspired by nature — one that aims to achieve harmony among individuals in the same way that harmony and balance is found in natural phenomena,” he explained.

“I do feel that the new gengō is aligned with modern ways of thinking, in that it focuses more on harmonious relationships between individuals to create a diverse society, rather than putting forward a specific principle,” Kure said.

What differentiated the arrival of the latest era from its past four predecessors — Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji — is that the government announced its name while the reigning Emperor is still alive.

In a rare address to the nation in August 2016 Emperor Akihito hinted at his desire to abdicate due to his advanced age, in contrast to his immediate predecessors who reigned until their deaths. His unprecedented address launched preparations for what will be the first abdication by a sitting Japanese monarch in around 200 years.</s>TOKYO – Japan unveiled “Reiwa,” two characters that symbolize order and harmony, as the new name for a new era under a new Emperor.

The new name, carefully selected by a panel of experts and the government under strict secrecy, will be used as the basis for Japan’s unique Imperial calendar system after Crown Prince Naruhito takes over the Chrysanthemum Throne from his father on May 1.

But it also symbolizes Japan’s hopes for the future in turbulent times.

“Our nation is facing up to a big turning point, but there are lots of Japanese values that shouldn’t fade away,” Prime Minister Abe told a news conference to explain the new name.

The year 2019 will become the first year of the new era, or Reiwa 1, used on official documents, coins, driving licenses and newspapers, by businesses and in everyday life from May 1 in parallel with the Western, or Gregorian, calendar.

The character rei can be roughly translated as “order,” while wa signifies “harmony” or “peace.”

Abe said the new name conveyed a meaning that “culture is born and nurtured when people’s hearts empathize with each other beautifully.”

While many people would use Western dates to think about international events, older people especially would use the Japanese system to think about domestic events and their own lives.

Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga unveiled the new name by holding up a framed white placard showing its two Chinese characters handwritten. The name, he said, is taken from the Man’yoshu, the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry dating back to the seventh century, in a break from a tradition of using Chinese classics.

“We expect the new era to be widely accepted by the public and deeply rooted in the lives of Japanese people,” Suga said.

Many of the poems in the Man’yoshu reflect the varieties of seasons and nature, and the character Rei is used in reference to plum blossoms.

“It is a collection which expresses our nation’s rich culture, which we should take pride in, along with our nation’s beautiful nature,” Abe said.

“I want Japan to proudly bloom like plum blossoms,” he explained. “Plum blossoms bloom beautifully after a harsh winter as a sign of the arrival of spring.”

The name of an era, or gengo, represents the zeitgeist of a period, just as the Roaring Twenties and Swinging Sixties encapsulated different decades in the United States, or the Victorian Age is remembered by the British as a time of colonial expansion abroad and Protestant morality at home.

It is carefully chosen as being relatively easy to write but not in common use, but more importantly encapsulates Japan’s hopes for the coming decades.

The abdication of Emperor Akihito marks the end of his era, known as the Heisei, which means “achieving peace.”

The Heisei lived up to its name as the first period in Japan’s history when military conflict was avoided, and Akihito is revered as a man who did much to restore the image of Japan’s monarchy but also to heal the wounds of war and promote a modern image of Japan as a peace-loving nation.

But the 30-year Heisei era itself will be remembered less fondly — it began with the bursting of Japan’s real estate bubble and was marked by decades of economic stagnation, when Japan was outpaced by its much larger rival China.

It was also marked by political corruption scandals and natural disasters, notably the 1995 Kobe earthquake and 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, as well as growing concerns about the effects of globalization.

Before that, the Showa era that ran from 1926 to 1989 represents a turbulent period in Japan’s history, including its militarization and eventual defeat in World War II, followed by its recovery and stunning rise to become a global economic power.

Japan hopes the new Reiwa era will allow the country to again turn the page and usher in an era of economic and diplomatic revival, beginning with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, just as the 1964 Games here represented Japan’s emergence on the world stage after the ravages of war.

But it will also be an era when Japan grapples with an aging and shrinking population, and hopes to tackle labor shortages of workers by encouraging more women to work but also bringing in more foreign workers.

After May 1, Emperor Akihito, who is 85 and the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in two centuries, will take the name of his era after his death, and will be known as the Emperor Heisei, just as his father, known is his lifetime as Emperor Hirohito, is now referred to as the Emperor Showa.

His abdication, made on the grounds of his health and the weight of official duties, gave the government the chance to unveil the new era name a month before it comes into effect, to allow new calendars to be printed and software to be updated.

The idea of Imperial eras comes from the ancient Chinese idea that the emperor rules even time itself. Japan has had 247 era names since the system was instituted in 645, but it was not until the start of the Meiji era in 1868 that a single era name has been used for a single emperor.

Although widespread, the use of the gengo system is in decline. A recent survey in the Mainichi newspaper showed a third of people mostly use the system, compared to 82 percent in 1975. While 25 percent preferred the Western calendar, many use the two interchangeably, since both use Western months and dates.

Aging Japan needs new blood. But a plan to allow more foreign workers sparks concerns.

Japan’s Abe stakes out new identity: Stronger leadership and wider military reach

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news</s>Calendars bearing Japan's next imperial era name, Reiwa. The name consists of two characters - Rei and Wa - signifying order and harmony.

JAPAN on Monday revealed the name of the era that will define the new emperor's reign when he ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne next month following a historic abdication.

The name consists of two characters: Rei, which can have meanings related to order or auspicious and Wa, usually translated as peace or harmony.

After weeks of fevered speculation and top-secret discussions, the two kanji characters were unveiled to reveal a name that will last as long as new emperor Naruhito's rule.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the term came from the Manyoshu, an anthology of Japanese poems dating back 1,200 years that "symbolises our nation's profound public culture and long tradition".

"Just like amazing plum flowers in full bloom that signal the arrival of spring after bitter cold, each and every Japanese person can hope for the future and make their own flowers blossom," he said.

It may appear esoteric to outsiders, but the announcement of a new era name is a massive event in Japan, marked with special newspaper editions, calligraphy shows and public festivities.

Although the Gregorian calendar is widely used in the world's third-largest economy, Japan is the only country still using Chinese-style imperial calendars for private and public documents as well as computer records.

The new name therefore has a huge impact on daily life and people tend to recall major events in public and private life by when they fell in a certain era.

A highly secretive nine-member panel including a Nobel Prize winner whittled down various options for the new name in closed-door talks.

The era name must adhere to strict guidelines. It should consist of only two kanji or characters, be easy to read and write, and not employ common names or the first character of any of the last four eras: Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji.

Company names are excluded as well as the most popular choices in private guessing competitions, amid widespread speculation online as to what the new name could be.

To prevent leaks, the panel were locked away in a special room in the prime minister's office, swept for bugs, and their phones confiscated.

Traffic on Japan's largest registration site for website names surged ten-fold when the closely guarded secret was finally announced.

Investors spurred a Reiwa rise in some stocks. Shares of book retailer Bunkyodo Group Holdings jumped as much as 29 per cent on expectations that Japanese will buy copies of the Manyoshu anthology of poems that inspired the name. The stock closed up 4 per cent.

Financial traders are also pinning their hopes on the new era name to bolster a shaky market. "New era-related shares such as printing companies have already been bought widely," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities. "We hope this festive sentiment will boost the entire market."

Companies with tenuous links to the new name also received a boost.

Advertising firm Ray Corp, whose name sounds like the first syllable of Reiwa, rose as much at 19 per cent before closing up 7 per cent.

Daiwa Industries, known in Japanese as Daiwa Reiki Kogyo, rose 5 per cent in heavy volume trade.

The 85-year-old Akihito will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in around two centuries when he steps down on April 30 in favour of Crown Prince Naruhito, who will ascend the throne the next day.

Japan is marking the announcement of the new era in a wide variety of ways, some less serious than others.

A sake company offered a vintage bottle from the first year of the Heisei era (1989) to anyone who correctly guessed the new name, while a grand hotel is marking the occasion with a 3kg wagyu beef burger served between gold-dusted buns for an eye-watering US$900.

Japan has had nearly 250 eras or gengo since adopting the system in the 7th century, and in recent times, one era has run the entire length of a monarch's rule.

But the announcement of a new era is a real headache for calendar publishers featuring both Western and imperial dates, while central and local governments must scramble to change dates on official documents.

The tech sector is also bracing for the transition, amid fears there could be a computer glitch similar to the Y2K bug that sparked concerns ahead of the year 2000.

Others view the change in era name as a bonanza. For example, companies that manufacture private ink seals - commonly used in Japan to sign official documents - are expected to benefit and they have already reported strong advance orders.

Junzo Matoba, a former bureaucrat who helped look for new names during the last years of emperor Hirohito's Showa era in the late 1980s, said: "Japanese people love to 'reset' things. A new era, a new mindset." AFP, REUTERS</s>Japan’s new imperial era to begin on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes emperor, will be called Reiwa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced on Monday, adding that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would explain its meaning shortly in a national address. The era name, or “gengo”, is used widely in Japan – on coins, calendars, newspapers and in official paperwork. Although use of the Western calendar has become widespread, many Japanese count years by gengo or use the two systems interchangeably.

Naruhito’s ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne will come a day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates on April 30, ending the Heisei era, which began in 1989. Akihito will be the first emperor to abdicate in Japan in over two centuries.</s>Japan says next emperor Naruhito's era name is 'Reiwa,' effective May 1 when he takes the throne from his father.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan says next emperor Naruhito's era name is 'Reiwa,' effective May 1 when he takes the throne from his father.</s>Q&A: What's in a name for Japan emperor's new era?

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's government has unveiled an era name, "Reiwa," or "pursuing harmony," for soon-to-be Emperor Naruhito, who will succeed the Chrysanthemum throne on May 1. His father, Emperor Akihito, is abdicating, with his "Heisei" era coming to an end the day before. A selection of the name was a top secret and the decision comes after highly guarded closed meetings and intense media speculation.

On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ultra-conservative government chose the name for the first time from an ancient Japanese document, breaking with the tradition of taking them from Chinese classic literature, a step seen as reflecting Abe's attempt to bolster national pride.

Some questions and answers regarding the process of picking an era name:

WHAT IS THE ERA NAME?

The era name, or "gengo," is a 1,400-year-old Japanese tradition tied to emperors' reigns to showcase their power. The names change when a new emperor takes the throne. It becomes an emperor's official posthumous name — Akihito's father, Hirohito, is now named after his era, "Showa."

Originally a Chinese tradition, the era name is made of two Chinese characters taken from classic Chinese literature. Japan adopted the system in 645 and has since had 247 eras, including Akihito's 1989-2019 "Heisei," which means "achieving peace." Showa is the longest era, at 64 years. Akihito's Heisei is the first decided by the government under the postwar constitution, in which the emperor is stripped of political power and had no say over the choice.

Still, the government, with its highly secretive and sensitive handling of the process, is underscoring that "the emperor has power in an invisible, subtle way," said Hirohito Suzuki, a Toyo University sociologist.

HOW WIDELY IS THE ERA NAME USED?

The era name is only for domestic use. Although its use is not compulsory, Japanese government offices and businesses still widely use the system in official documents, coins, calendars and for other paperwork. Middle-age to elderly people often use "gengo" to identify their generations, while younger people prefer the Western calendar over the era name as conversions are cumbersome in a highly globalized and digitalized society.

Popularity of era names has dropped to less than half over the past four decades since the late 1970s. Though impractical, the era name is considered Japan's traditional culture and is expected to continue despite persistent calls by some to abolish it.

WHO DECIDES THE ERA NAME AND HOW?

The procedures to change the era name is based on a 1979 law, with the government picking a team of experts on classical literature in Chinese to find and nominate several names each for top officials to review. It is a complicated process that must meet certain criteria — easy to read and write but not commonly or previously used. Japanese media have been scrambling to get scoops out. The names of the scholars and their nominations have been and will be classified for decades.

On Monday, Abe's government chose the name drawn from Japan's oldest poetry book, "Manyoshu" from the 7th century, breaking with Japan's 1,400-year-old tradition — a step seen reflecting Abe's attempt to bolster national pride that he says was weakened by war-guilt campaigns during U.S. occupation after Japan's World War II defeat.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ERA NAME CHANGES?

A change of an era name causes a major hassle for government offices and businesses, which have to revise computer systems and software. It also leads to printing new train tickets, stamps, coins, receipts and calendars. The new era name was announced a month ahead of the start of Naruhito's reign to allow for time to adjust.

Because of a festive mood surrounding the upcoming era change, the event is also creating businesses for both the outgoing and the incoming eras. The abdication and succession events that come in the middle of the annual "golden week" expand the holidays to 10 days, bolstering tourism and other consumer spending.</s>Japan has revealed the name of its next imperial era to be "Reiwa," set to begin May 1 as Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to take the throne.

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, announced the name at a press conference Monday morning local time, unveiling a board with the two kanji characters written on it. While there was some deliberation over the exact meaning, the two characters that make up the new name, or the "gengo," translate roughly to "good fortune" and "peace" or "harmony," according to The Japan Times.

"We hope [the era name] will be widely accepted by the people and deeply rooted as part of their daily lives," Suga told reporters.

The announcement comes as the current "Heisei" era draws to a close after three decades, with Emperor Akihito set to step down on April 30 in the first abdication of the throne in over 200 years.

Since the mid-19th century, each era has coincided with the reign of an individual emperor, starting with the "Meiji" and "Taisho" eras. The "Showa" ("enlightened harmony") era corresponded to the reign of Emperor Hirohito from 1926 to 1989. The "Heisei" era, which translates to "achieving peace," began in 1989 after Hirohito died and Akihito ascended the throne.

In August 2016, Akihito —who is now 85 years old— signaled that he wanted to step down, citing his health and advancing age. But he ran up against Japanese law, which does not allow the emperor to abdicate.

In June 2017, Japan's parliament passed what amounts to an exception for Akihito, allowing him to step down and pass the role to his son. By the end of 2017, a panel of Japanese leaders had set the abdication date for the end of April in 2019.

Announcing the name one month in advance gives companies and government entities time to incorporate the name into paperwork and computer systems, The Guardian reports. Even as the Western calendar has become more widespread in Japan, the era name is still used frequently, including on newspapers, coins and official documents like driving licenses. Under the system, 2019 is known as Heisei 31, or the 31st year of Akihito's reign.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference Monday that the name "Reiwa" stems from the "Manyoshu," the oldest existing anthology of Japanese poetry, collected sometime after A.D. 759. The Associated Press reports, that marks a break from the tradition of drawing era names from Chinese classical texts.

Japan's cabinet picked the name from a list of nominations drawn up by scholars and narrowed down by experts from various fields, including Nobel prize-winning stem-cell scientist Shinya Yamanaka, according to AP. The top-secret discussions took place amid a media frenzy to scoop the new era name.</s>Japan to name new era for soon-to-be emperor Naruhito

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's government is holding top-secret meetings to decide a new era name for soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito, the crown prince who will succeed the Chrysanthemum throne from his father May 1.

Emperor Akihito is abdicating on April 30, with his era of "Heisei" coming to an end.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government later Monday will unveil the era name, or "gengo," for Naruhito's reign.

It comes a month ahead of the switch to allow the government, businesses and other sectors time to adjust to the change that still affects many parts of Japan's society, even though the system is not compulsory and the emperor has no political power under Japan's postwar constitution.

Under the 1979 era name law, Abe has appointed a panel of experts on classical Chinese and Japanese literature to nominate two to five names for top officials to choose from. The names must meet the strict criteria — easy to read and write but not commonly or previously used for an era name.

Japanese media have scrambled to get scoops out of a new era name. Rumors included "Ankyu," which uses the same Chinese character as in Abe's family name, though it is unlikely to be the choice.

The name selection procedure started in mid-March when Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga asked a handful of unidentified scholars to nominate two to five era names each. Suga hasn't made clear how he will present the new name, but hinted he may follow his late predecessor Keizo Obuchi, who is remembered for holding up framed calligraphy of "Heisei" in 1989 at the first televised announcement of an era name.

While a growing number of Japanese prefer the Western calendar over the Japanese system in a highly digitalized and globalized society, the era name is still widely used in government and business documents. Elders often use it to identify their generations.

Discussing and guessing new era names in advance is not considered a taboo this time because Akihito is abdicating. Era name change is also a time for many Japanese to reflect on the outgoing and incoming decades.

Akihito's era of "Heisei," which means "achieving peace," was the first without a war in Japan's modern history, but is also remembered as lost years of economic deflation and natural disasters.

Heisei was the first era name decided by the government under the postwar constitution, in which the emperor was stripped of political power and had no say over the choice. Still, the government, with its highly secretive and sensitive handling of the process, is underscoring that "the emperor has power in an invisible, subtle way," says Hirohito Suzuki, a Toyo University sociologist.

Era name changes are creating businesses for both the outgoing and the incoming. Anything dubbed "last of Heisei" attracts Akihito fans, while others are waiting to submit marriage certificates or filing other official registration until the new era starts. Analysts say the era change that expands the "golden week" holidays to 10 days on May 1 could buoy tourism and other recreational spending.</s>TOKYO (AP) — Japan says next emperor Naruhito's era name is 'Reiwa,' effective May 1 when he takes the throne from his father.</s>"Reiwa": Japan on Monday revealed the name of the era that will define the new emperor's reign when he ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne next month following a historic abdication.

The name consists of two characters: "Rei", which can have meanings related to "order" but also "auspicious" and "Wa", usually translated as "peace" or "harmony."

After weeks of fevered speculation and top-secret discussions, the two "kanji" characters were unveiled to reveal a name that will last as long as new emperor Naruhito's rule.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the term came from the "Manyoshu", an anthology of Japanese poems dating back 1,200 years that "symbolises our nation's profound public culture and long tradition."

"Just like amazing plum flowers in full bloom that signal the arrival of spring after bitter cold, each and every Japanese person can hope for the future and make their own flowers blossom," added the prime minister.

It may appear esoteric to outsiders, but the announcement of a new era name is a massive event in Japan, marked with special newspaper editions, calligraphy shows and public festivities.

Although the Gregorian calendar is widely used in the world's third-largest economy, Japan is the only country still using Chinese-style imperial calendars for private and public documents as well as computer records.

The new name, therefore, has a huge impact on daily life and people tend to recall major events in public and private life by when they fell in a certain era.

A highly secretive nine-member panel including a Nobel Prize winner whittled down various options for the new name in closed-door talks.

The era name must adhere to strict guidelines.

It should consist of only two "kanji" or characters, be easy to read and write, and not employ common names or the first character of any of the last four eras: Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji.

Company names are excluded as well as the most popular choices in private guessing competitions, amid widespread speculation online as to what the new name could be.

To prevent leaks, the panel were locked away in a special room in the prime minister's office, swept for bugs, and their phones confiscated.

The 85-year-old Akihito will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in around two centuries when he steps down on April 30 in favour of Crown Prince Naruhito, who will ascend the throne the next day.

Japan is marking the announcement of the new era in a wide variety of ways, some less serious than others.

A sake company offered a vintage bottle from the first year of the Heisei era (1989) to anyone who correctly guessed the new name, while a grand hotel is marking the occasion with a three-kilogramme wagyu beef burger served between gold-dusted buns for an eye-watering $900.

Japan has had nearly 250 eras or "gengo" since adopting the system in the 7th century, and in recent times, one era has run the entire length of a monarch's rule.

But the announcement of a new era is a real headache for calendar publishers featuring both Western and imperial dates, while central and local governments must scramble to change dates on official documents.

The tech sector is also bracing for the transition, amid fears there could be a computer glitch similar to the "Y2K" bug that sparked concerns ahead of the year 2000.

Others view the change in era name as a bonanza.

For example, companies that manufacture private ink seals -- commonly used in Japan to sign official documents -- are expected to benefit and they have already reported strong advance orders.

Financial traders are also pinning their hopes on the new era name to bolster a shaky market.

"New era-related shares such as printing companies have already been bought widely," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"We hope this festive sentiment will boost the entire market," he added.

Junzo Matoba, a former bureaucrat who helped look for new names during the last years of emperor Hirohito's Showa era in the late 1980s, told AFP: "Japanese people love to 'reset' things."
Reiwa (令和) is revealed as the new Japanese Era name set to start on May 1 upon Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan.