Following concerns over how official documents were handled in the changeover from Showa to Heisei, the government will officially record the process of selecting the new era name that will be announced Monday, government sources have said.
Among a set of documents to be kept for a maximum 30 years under the law will be calligraphy of the gengō (era name) that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is expected to show in an announcement Monday, the sources said Saturday.
The era name change will come on May 1 when Crown Prince Naruhito is due to ascend the throne, taking over from his father, Emperor Akihito, who is set to abdicate on April 30.