The government is not planning to solicit public opinion about the next Imperial era name should Emperor Akihito relinquish the throne, a government source said Sunday.

An era name, or gengo, remains in use for the length of an emperor's reign, with the current period under Emperor Akihito known as Heisei.

The era changed from Showa to Heisei on Jan. 8, 1989, a day after his father Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, died. The process of selecting an era name, regarded as a matter of urgency, was expedited to circumvent the normally required process of incorporating public submissions when passing an ordinance.