• Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
ABOUT
Advertise in GAT
Contact us
Monday, May 29, 2023
Georgia Asian Times
International Insurance of Georgia
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Georgia Asian Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
Home Headline

Updating software, shaping history: New imperial era name looms large in Japan

Georgia Asian Times by Georgia Asian Times
March 29, 2019
in Headline, Lifestyle
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Tokyo, March 26, 2019 – In Japan, every emperor’s era has its own name – appearing in places such as coins, official paperwork and newspapers – and with abdication coming at the end of April, speculation is swirling about what the new “gengo” will be.

Although the Western calendar has become more widespread in Japan, many people here count years in terms of gengo or use the two systems interchangeably. Emperor Akihito’s era, which began in 1989, is Heisei, making 2019 Heisei 31.

The new era name is one of biggest changes – practically and psychologically – for Japan at the start of Crown Prince Naruhito’s reign on May 1. On April 30, Akihito will abdicate, ending an era in the minds of many Japanese.

The new name is so secret that senior government officials involved in the decision must surrender their cell phones and stay sequestered until it is broadcast, media reports say.

AD: High Museum of Atlanta AD: High Museum of Atlanta

City offices and government agencies, which mostly use gengo in their computer systems and paperwork, have been preparing for months to avoid glitches.

To make the transition easier, authorities will announce the new gengo — two Chinese characters the cabinet chooses from a short list proposed by scholars – a month early, on April 1.

“We’ve been working on this change for about a year,” said Tsukasa Shizume, an official in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka, where the era name will be changed on 55 kinds of paperwork in 20 administrative sections. The month-long lead time should be sufficient, he said.

Fujitsu and NEC Corp. have been helping customers ensure the switch doesn’t crash their systems. Programs have been designed to make it easy to change the gengo, said Shunichi Ueda, an NEC official.

“If people want to test their computer systems, they can use a trial gengo and see if it works,” he said.

Most major companies use the Western calendar in their computer systems, so it won’t affect them as much, although smaller companies might run into some problems, he said.

In Tokyo’s Minato ward, officials will cross out Heisei on thousands of documents and stamp the new gengo above it.

NATIONAL MOOD

The era name is more than just a way of counting years for many Japanese.

It’s a word that captures the national mood of a period, similar to the way “the ‘60s” evokes particular feelings or images, or how historians refer to Britain’s “Victorian” or “Edwardian” eras, tying the politics and culture of a period to a monarch.

“It’s a way of dividing history,” said Jun Iijima, a 31-year-old lawyer who was born the last year of Showa, the era of Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito. “If you were just counting years, the Western system might be sufficient. But gengo gives a certain meaning to a historical period.”

The 64-year Showa era, which lasted until 1989, has generally come to be identified with Japan’s recovery and rising global prominence in the decades after World War Two.

The imperial era name is also a form of “soft nationalism,” said Ken Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University.

“It’s one of these constant low-level reminders that Japan counts years differently and Japan has a monarchy,” he said.

The gengo characters are carefully chosen with an aspirational meaning. Heisei, which means “achieving peace,” began on Jan. 8, 1989, amid high hopes that Japan would play a greater role in global affairs after decades of robust economic growth.

Soon afterward, Japan’s economic bubble popped, ushering in a long period of stagnation and deflation. The rise of China and South Korea diminished Japan’s international prominence, and a series of disasters – including the 1995 Kobe earthquake and 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crises – has marred Heisei’s image.

FADING USE

In daily life, usage of the gengo system is slowly declining as Japan integrates into the global economy.

A recent Mainichi newspaper survey showed that 34 percent of people said they used mostly gengo, 34 percent said they used both about the same, and 25 percent mainly the Western calendar. In 1975, 82 percent said mostly gengo. Both calendars use Western months.

Japanese drivers licenses have started to print both dates, instead of just gengo.

Iijima, the lawyer, says legal paperwork uses the era name because that’s what the court system uses. But in daily life he uses both. For global events, he thinks in terms of the Western calendar – like the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – and uses both dating systems for domestic events.

He is indifferent about what characters will be chosen for the next gengo.

But remembering that his grandparents suffered during World War Two, he hopes that it will be an era without war, that Japan will keep up economically with China and India and that it will grow into a “mature,” more tolerant place.

“I hope Japan can become a society where minorities can live more easily,” he said. – Reuters

Previous Post

Trump says he can produce a better healthcare plan than Obamacare

Next Post

U.S., China hold ‘candid and constructive’ trade talks in Beijing

Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times

Related Posts

A public person in a private country: Tina Turner reveled in ‘normal’ life in her Swiss home
Lifestyle

A public person in a private country: Tina Turner reveled in ‘normal’ life in her Swiss home

May 25, 2023
Tips for growing herbs (you don’t even need a garden)
Lifestyle

Tips for growing herbs (you don’t even need a garden)

May 24, 2023
Chanel lures stars with cruise fashion show in Los Angeles
Lifestyle

Chanel lures stars with cruise fashion show in Los Angeles

May 10, 2023
Met Gala: Rihanna, Jared Leto as Choupette, Kim K. in pearls
Lifestyle

Met Gala: Rihanna, Jared Leto as Choupette, Kim K. in pearls

May 2, 2023
Louis Vuitton turns Seoul bridge into massive runway
Lifestyle

Louis Vuitton turns Seoul bridge into massive runway

April 30, 2023
Moulin Rouge! The Musical! – Fabulously entertaining at The Fox
Lifestyle

Moulin Rouge! The Musical! – Fabulously entertaining at The Fox

April 23, 2023
Next Post

U.S., China hold 'candid and constructive' trade talks in Beijing

Signup Free E-Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Jul 14
6:00 pm - 10:30 pm

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia 2023

View Calendar
Logo

 

CONTACT US

Follow Us

MOST INFLUENTIAL

2023 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia

2023 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia

April 30, 2023
GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

July 18, 2022

Video highlights of GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia

July 17, 2022

LINKS OF INTEREST

ATL Asian Film Festival

     

GAT AAPI SUMMIT 2023

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise in GAT
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Early Bird (May 19-31, 2023)

  • Honoree

    $225.00
    Select
  • Single Seat

    $225.00
    Select
  • Table of 8

    $1,800.00
    Select

Subscribe

Stay ahead of the curve with Georgia Asian Times’ exclusive newsletter. Get the hottest news stories and cultural insights delivered straight to your inbox. No subscription fees, just pure Asian excellence

 

    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Register for FREE to read the rest of this article, or log in to your account.

      Or Login Here :

      [loginfrm]

      Are you sure want to unlock this post?
      Unlock left : 0
      Are you sure want to cancel subscription?