JAPAN

Name of Japan's next era to avoid initial letters used to refer to past four eras

Then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Keizo Obuchi holds up the kanji for the new era name Heisei on Jan. 7, 1989, the day Emperor Hirohito died. | KYODO

Kyodo

Sep 3, 2018

The romanized name of the new Imperial era, to be introduced next May, is unlikely to start with the first letter of any of the last four eras, taking heed of a practice whereby era names are abbreviated with their starting letter, according to sources close to the matter.

This means the new era will not start with M, T, S, or H, which were used to stand for the Meiji, Taisho, Showa and Heisei eras, respectively.

The Heisei Era will end on April 30, when Emperor Akihito will abdicate, paving the way for Crown Prince Naruhito to ascend the throne.

Name of Japan's next era to avoid initial letters used to refer to past four eras

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