The name of the era of Japan’s soon-to-be-emperor Naruhito will be “Reiwa,” the government announced on Monday.
Emperor Akihito is stepping down on April 30, in the first abdication in 200 years, bringing his era of “Heisei” to an end. The new era takes effect May 1.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday the name draws from the 7th century poetry collection “Manyoshu.”
Mr. Suga said that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would explain the meaning of the name later at a news conference.
It is believed to be the first time the era name, or “gengo” has been taken from a Japanese document, a break from more than 1,300 years of using Chinese classics.
The new era’s name was kept strictly secret ahead of Monday’s announcement.
“We hope [the era name] will be widely accepted by the people and deeply rooted as part of their daily lives,” Mr. Suga told reporters showing the name, written in two Chinese characters in black ink calligraphy on a white background.
Mr. Abe said earlier that he hoped the name would “lead to a new era brimming with hope.”
The announcement allows only a month ahead of the switch for government, businesses and other sectors 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, Mr. Abe 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 had to meet strict criteria, being easy to read and write but not commonly or previously used for an era name.
Japanese media 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.
There had been speculation that Mr. Abe’s ultra-conservative government, often hawkish on China matters, would choose the name from a Japanese document, breaking with the tradition of using Chinese classics as references.
The name selection procedure started in mid-March when Mr. Suga asked a handful of unidentified scholars to nominate two to five era names each.
Several nominations were presented at a first, closed-door meeting that included nine outside experts from various areas, including Nobel prize-winning stem-cell scientist Shinya Yamanaka and award-winning novelist Mariko Hayashi, to present their views and narrow the selection before final approval by the Cabinet.
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.
Emperor 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.
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.
