Screenshot : Chiaki Today, the Japanese government announced the name of the new imperial era: Reiwa (令和). It will replace Heisei, the name of the current imperial era. Advertisement Heisei (平成) literally means “become peace,” and the era began in 1989 when the current Emperor took to the throne. Thus, the year Heisei 1 is 1989, Heisei 2 is 1990, and Heisei 3 1991 and so on . The era prior was called Showa, and dates from 1926–1989. Showa (昭和) literally means “shining Japan.” The country’s history is divided up into a series of eras. For example, the era before Showa was the Taisho Period (1912–1926) and before that was the Meiji Period (1868–1912), which each marking the rule of a different emperor . This Japanese imperial system is used throughout the country on official documents as well as in daily life. This can be confusing for foreigners and can make year-conversion tricky even for Japanese people. Advertisement Naturally, each era is defined by its events, culture, thought and fashion. Today, when stuff looks retro in Japan, people often it as “Showa-poi” or “Showa-like.” As time passes, the same will be said of Heisei buildings, culture and fashion . Advertisement For example, while the early Showa Period was ravaged by war, Osaka’s Tower of the Sun and the Famicom became emblematic of the late Showa Era . Advertisement The current Heisei Period will end on April 30, 2019 (or Heisei 31) when Emperor Akihito abdicates the throne, and the Reiwa Era is expected to start on May 1. Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to be enthroned this October. Advertisement Only time will tell what will define the new era for future generations.<doc-sep>The reign of Japan’s next emperor will be known as the Reiwa era, after the new imperial name was unveiled before an expectant nation on Monday morning. People across Japan paused as the name – or gengo – was announced after months of secret deliberations, with the final choice previously known only to a select group of experts and senior politicians. The new era will begin on 1 May, a day after the emperor, Akihito – whose era is known as Heisei (achieving peace) – makes way for his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, in Japan’s first imperial abdication for more than 200 years. Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, unveiled the name live on TV, moments after a nine-member panel, which included the Nobel prize-winning stem cell scientist Shinya Yamanaka, agreed on a name from about five options put forward by scholars of classical Chinese and Japanese literature. “We hope the new era name will be widely accepted by the public and become deeply rooted in the lives of the Japanese people,” Suga said after the announcement, which began several minutes behind schedule. TV commentators struggled to offer a direct translation, but the two characters, Rei and Wa, taken from the eighth-century work Man’yoshu, the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry, can be read as “fortunate” or “auspicious”, and “peace” or “harmony”. The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said the term “symbolises our nation’s profound public culture and long tradition”. He added: “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. “Our nation is facing up to a big turning point, but there are lots of Japanese values that shouldn’t fade away. We are very proud of our history, culture and tradition, and this term expresses the Japan of tomorrow, the one we want to build for future generations. That was the most decisive point in making the choice.” In Tokyo, people watching giant screens greeted the announcement with applause and, in a few cases, tears. “I was surprised by the choice – I didn’t expect those kanji characters, but I’ll have to start getting used to them,” one woman told public broadcaster NHK. “One of them is the character for peace, so there is a serious meaning behind it.” In the hours before the announcement, TV studio guests discussed the significance of new imperial era name. Updates flashed on the screen on the progress of deliberations and officials were filmed from TV helicopters arriving at the prime minister’s office. The panel tasked with making the final choice were kept in a room at the prime minister’s office that had been checked for bugs. Everyone involved in the final deliberations was required to hand in their phones and other mobile devices to prevent leaks. Officials had warned that any names leaked to the media ahead of the announcement would immediately be withdrawn. The chosen name was then approved by the cabinet. Suga said the government would not reveal the identity of the expert who suggested the new gengo or the other candidate names. Akihito, 85, hinted at a desire to retire during a rare televised address in 2016, saying he feared his advanced years would inhibit his ability to perform official duties. His imminent retirement has sparked a wave of nostalgia for his 30-year reign. TV quiz shows have tested guests knowledge of the era, while special dolls were made to mimic the moment when Suga unveiled the new name. Newspaper companies issued special editions, while businesses quickly incorporated the gengo into commemorative goods. Japanese public bodies and companies now have a month to incorporate the new era’s name into their paperwork and computer systems before Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum throne, becoming the country’s 126th emperor. The new gengo will appear on everything from train tickets and software to official documents and calendars. “The era names carry this weight with them; they have this sense of defining a period,” Daniel Sneider, a Japan expert at Stanford University, told Associated Press. “Japanese life is filled with these combinations of tradition and modernity that some people used to find irritating ... but this insistence on sticking to tradition is what distinguishes Japan from other societies.” Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo, said the new gengo was an opportunity to put the past three decades into context. “In all nations there are certain rituals of identity and belonging and nationalism that are important to people, and the emperor is a symbol of who the Japanese are as a people,” he said. “Particularly when you’re facing troubled times, that becomes even more important.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Although still widely used, the gengo calendar is declining in popularity as Japan opens up to global influence. According to a recent survey in Japan's Mainichi newspaper, a third of people mostly used the gengo system, compared to 82% in 1975, while 25% preferred the Western calendar.<doc-sep>On Monday morning, a senior government official in Tokyo will enter a room, gather his thoughts and hold up a work of handwritten calligraphy. Millions of people will pause and digest the meaning of the two kanji characters, and Japan will finally get the answer to a question that has kept it in suspense for months: the name of the new imperial era. The characters will open a new chapter in Japanese history, a month before the emperor, Akihito, makes way for his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, whose enthronement will take place on 1 May in the country’s first imperial abdication for 200 years. Symbolism aside, there are compelling practical reasons behind the decision to reveal the name of the new era weeks before the new emperor begins his reign. Japanese officialdom, companies and many citizens use the name of the imperial era – or gengo – to mark time, often in tandem with the Gregorian calendar. The era’s name appears on everything from official forms and identity documents to coins, calendars and newspapers, as well as being used in everyday conversation. Emperor Akihito stands as court officials hand over the sacred sword and jewel, symbols of the emperor, at the enthronement ceremony in 1989. Photograph: AP Under the system, which spans several centuries, 2019 is known as Heisei 31, or the 31st year of Akihito’s reign. The early announcement will give companies and public bodies time to incorporate the new era’s name into their paperwork and computer systems, and avoid any Y2K-style glitches when Naruhito becomes emperor on 1 May. Local governments say they have been preparing for the change for months and are confident they will be able to update their records in time. In Minato ward, a densely populated part of central Tokyo, officials are poised to cross out the current era’s name on thousands of documents and stamp the new one above it, while companies including Fujitsu and NEC have been helping clients ensure their computers don’t crash as soon as the new era begins. The names given to Japanese imperial reigns can have far-reaching consequences. The choice of characters can help determine the national zeitgeist and, over time, the name becomes a byword for collective memories of the era in question. The Meiji (enlightened rule) era of 1868-1912 is remembered as a period of western-inspired modernisation; the Showa (enlightened harmony) era, which began in 1926, is closely associated with Japan’s economic rise, but also with its role in the second world war. The three decades of Heisei (achieving peace) evoke similarly ambivalent feelings: it was the end of the bubble economy, a time of rivalry with China and several national tragedies, including the 1995 terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway and the disastrous earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accidents of March 2011. “It is easier to imagine what the time was like if you have eras,” Kunio Kowaguchi, the president of calendar maker Todan, told Agence France-Presse. “For instance, we remember it was early Heisei that the economic bubble burst.” It remains to be seen if the new era will revive the popular use of gengo amid a preference for the Gregorian calendar. A recent poll by the Mainichi newspaper found that 34% of people used gengo most of the time, a similar proportion used both in roughly equal measure, while a quarter preferred the Gregorian calendar. In 1975, 82% of people said they used gengo more frequently. The honour of revealing the name will fall to the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, despite speculation that the announcement would be made by the prime minister, Shinzō Abe. In 1989, one of Suga’s predecessors in the role, Keizō Obuchi, sealed his place in Japan’s modern history when he proclaimed the name of the current era, Heisei – a single act that left a deeper impression on the public than his time as prime minister. Abe, though, may yet find himself closely associated with the change. One of the characters widely tipped for inclusion in the new era’s name also appears in his surname. But the panel of experts tasked with devising a shortlist of contenders – with the cabinet to make the final decision – will be eager to avoid accusations that their choice has political overtones, given the constitutional ban on postwar emperors from wielding political influence. As speculation mounts, one thing is certain. Akihito’s reign will end on 30 April, and with it the Heisei era. The following day, a new era will begin as his son becomes the 126th occupant of the Chrysanthemum throne. Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako greet guests at garden party in Tokyo. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty How the name is chosen No one, other than a close-knit group of experts and politicians, will ever learn the identity of the man or woman behind the name given to Japan’s new imperial reign. For the past few months, a secretive eight-member panel of experts, including scholars of Japanese and Chinese classical literature, has been debating the merits of scores of possible names for the new era, the latest of almost 250 gengo stretching back to the seventh century. On Monday morning, Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, the leaders and deputy leaders of both houses of parliament along with representatives from business, academia and the media will meet to discuss the shortlist, with the cabinet left to make the final decision. In the past, emperors would change era names mid-reign to foster a spirit of renewal after natural disasters or crises; more recently, a single era has been used to mark the entirety of a monarch’s time on the Chrysanthemum throne. Tradition dictates that the new name must have two characters, be easy to read and write, and not be commonly used. It is also unlikely to start with the first character of any of the last four eras: Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji. Everyone involved in the final stage of a process that has been rehearsed annually since the Akihito’s reign began 30 years ago is sworn to secrecy.<doc-sep>
(CNN) — It’s the dawning of the age of … something. Japan will reveal the name of the country’s next era on April 1, as the country prepares for the abdication of Emperor Akihito later this year. The current Heisei Era began in 1989, when Akihito succeeded his father Emperor Hirohito, who ruled during the Showa period and is now known as the Showa Emperor. Akihito, soon to be known as the Heisei Emperor, will become the first Japanese monarch in 200 years to step down, relinquishing the Chrysanthemum Throne to his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, who will become the 126th emperor on May 1. KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko wave to well-wishers near the Hayama Imperial Villa in Kanagawa Prefecture on January 21, 2019. Eras are about more than who is the emperor of the day. They are also, for example, the basis of the Japanese calendar system: 2018 was Heisei 30, coming three decades after the era began. While the current system aligns with the rule of the emperors, this has not always been the case. In the past, new eras were declared to mark historical moments. For example, the Ansei period, beginning on November 27, 1854, on the Gregorian calendar, was adopted following a number of natural disasters and a fire at the imperial palace. The name Ansei means “tranquil government” and was intended to herald a peaceful period. Era names can also become political. The Showa era, the name of which can be interpreted to mean “period of radiant Japan,” spanned the rise of Japanese fascism and nationalism, when imperial troops under the Rising Sun banner invaded numerous neighboring countries. This attitude is sometimes called Showa Nationalism. Japanese people often identify strongly with their own eras – and the naming of the next one is an incredibly important process. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet will decide the name of the new era on Monday, April 1, after which it will be made public. Information about how the name of the era is being decided and discussions around it have been closely guarded. On Sunday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the names of academics and other experts who are advising the government will not be made public, nor will the person or persons who proposed the chosen name be revealed. TORU HANAI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Top Japanese officials meet to discuss the Emperor's abdication. Planning for the royal transition has taken years. While the naming of a new era will be a largely symbolic affair, a time for Japan to collectively turn a new page, the transition also presents a more immediate technical challenge. Japanese Y2K Microsoft has warned that Japanese computer software, most of which was written in the Heisei era, could face a Y2K moment, because Japanese calendar years are described by a combination of the year and era name. In the run up to the current millennium, concerns were raised that many computer programs represented four-digit years with only their last two digits. So, the years 2000 and 1900 would be indistinguishable. Millions of dollars were spent safeguarding against the so-called Millennium Bug. “For the Y2K event, there was worldwide recognition of the upcoming change, resulting in governments and software vendors beginning to work on solutions for that problem several years before 1 Jan, 2000,” Microsoft developer Shawn Steele wrote on one of the company’s blogs. “Even with that preparation many organizations encountered problems due to the millennial transition.” Steele warned that “after the era has changed it will be too late to test for compatibility problems.” While Microsoft and other large firms have put checks in place, the government has warned smaller companies not to be complacent. According to public broadcaster NHK, a survey last month found that about 20% of companies had not checked whether calendars in their software use the Japanese system. “Industry ministry officials warn that insufficient preparations could lead to unrecognized dates and the possibility of data-processing errors,” NHK reported. CORRECTION: This article originally misstated the start of the Ansei Era, which was the year 1854.