Foreign Ministry may go Gregorian, dropping use of Japan era names in documents when it can
With the upcoming Imperial era name change, the Foreign Ministry is considering scrapping the use of the era name for calendar years in some of its official documents and switching to the Gregorian calendar, according to informed sources. The new era name, Reiwa, will succeed ...
Foreign media focus on break in tradition after Reiwa is picked for Japan's new era name
U.S. and other Western media covering the announcement Monday of the new Imperial era name emphasized the decision by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to break with tradition by selecting a name from a Japanese rather than a Chinese work of classical literature. "The break ...
Some in China baffled by Japan's era name, with regret that it wasn't inspired by a Chinese classic
Some citizens in Beijing on Monday evaluated Japan's new era name, Reiwa, as "strange" and expressed disappointment, saying it doesn't make sense in their language and was not derived from Chinese classics. On Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, many young people had tried to guess ...
Reiwa: Japan reveals name of new era ahead of Emperor's abdication
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 ...
As it prepares to usher in the new era, Japan faces a host of challenges that could shake up the future course of the nation.
New Reiwa era name draws positive public responses across Japan
“It was unexpected, but I’m especially happy that they used ‘wa’ in the name,” says an Osaka shopkeeper.
Companies look to seize business opportunities as new era name unveiled
Some Japanese firms rushed Monday to secure business opportunities presented by the newly unveiled Imperial era name, which will be used from May 1, preparing or releasing products inscribed with the kanji for Reiwa. Just 2 minutes and 27 seconds after the televised announcement of ...
Emperor set to attend engagements through April ahead of abdication
The new era name may have been released Monday for the forthcoming reign of the emperor-in-waiting, but Emperor Akihito is still set to attend a series of ceremonies through this month in preparation for his abdication on April 30. In modern Japan an era name, ...
Japan's Imperial era names are societal bookmarks for politics, history and culture
In modern Japan, every emperor's era has its own name — appearing in places such as coins, official paperwork and newspapers — and with a rare abdication coming at the end of April, there was much speculation about what the new gengō would be. On ...
Imperial era names — once coined by emperors, now by the Cabinet
Japan will usher in a new era, Reiwa, when Crown Prince Akihito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 — a day after Emperor Akihito abdicates. Gengō, the Japanese term for era names, aren't merely used to identify the reign of an emperor. They ...
Top secret: A look at how Japan's new era name, Reiwa, was picked and kept under wraps
When Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga unveiled that Reiwa would be the name of Japan's next Imperial era on Monday, it was a moment that finally put an end to months of fierce media competition to get the scoop before the official announcement. The name ...
As use of the Gregorian calendar has become more prevalent in the postwar period, some see the Japanese era system — which has been in use for more than 1,300 years — as unnecessary and no longer relevant to modern society. Some argue that the ...
