Reiwa (令和), the name revealed that will be the new era name for Japan on 01 May 2019 which signify order and harmony.
On 01 Apr 2019 Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga made the announcement, by holding up a board with the characters Reiwa handwritten on it.
Japan’s current era, Heisei, will end in a month with Emperor Akihito’s historic abdication and Crown Prince Naruhito takes over on 01 May 2019 to begin Japan’s new imperial era Reiwa.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressed the nation that the government chose the kanji characters because they signify “a culture being born and nurtured by people coming together beautifully.”
Reiwa was selected after the government spent months studying proposals from scholars of Japanese and Chinese literature and history.
The Reiwa era will be the 248th gengo in Japanese history. Each Japanese emperor’s reign, or “gengo”, is given a name that is then used alongside the Western calendar to mark the years.
While use of the Western calendar is common, many Japanese count years by gengo or use the two systems interchangeably.
The first character is most often used to mean “command” but can also mean “good” and “beautiful,” while the second means “peace” or “harmony”.
The name emphasizes the beauty of Japan’s traditional culture and a future in which everyone would be able to achieve their dreams, especially young people, Abe said.
