Every November, in its Kanji of the Year poll, the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation invites the public to vote for the character that best symbolizes the year drawing to a close. It then announces the winner in mid December.

Since 1995, when the poll was inaugurated, the Kanji of the Year has been a legacy of the news event in the preceding year that made the deepest impression on the people of Japan. It was thus no surprise that the top vote-getter in the latest poll was inspired by the tragic events surrounding the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11.

In the days leading up to the announcement of poll results, my Japanese husband and I competed to predict the winner. My money was on 波 (nami, wave, the second character in 津波, tsunami), but my husband disagreed: "No, I think 波 is too evocative of the horrific scenes of March 11. Voters will show consideration for survivors' feelings and choose a character with a positive spin, one that honors the way volunteers and survivors pulled together in relief efforts. My prediction is 助 (tasu-keru, help)."