Japan names a new era for its new emperor

DPA, 01st APRIL, 2019- The Japanese government said on Monday that “Reiwa” will be the name of the new era under which the country’s new emperor Naruhito, the current crown prince, will reign.

The new era starts on May 1, when Naruhito succeeds to the Chrysanthemum throne currently occupied by his father, Emperor Akihito.

The name “Reiwa” was adapted from Manyo-shu, the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, compiled in the seventh and eighth centuries, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

In the modern age of expanding globalization, more Japanese people prefer the Gregorian calendar to the Japanese era system, which started about 1370 years ago.

But the era system is still widely used in governments and businesses.

The 85-year-old Akihito is set to relinquish the throne on April 30 in the first such abdication in about 200 years with the current era of “Heisei” coming to an end.

The era of “Heisei,” which means “achieving peace,” started on January 8, 1989, when Akihito became the 125th emperor, at the age of 55, following the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought World War II.