A sea lion writes the characters for the new era name 'Reiwa,' in a suburb of Tokyo, Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the name means that culture is born and nurtured as the people 'beautifully care about each other.'
Emperor Akihito is stepping down on April 30, in the first abdication in 200 years, bringing his era of "Heisei" to an end. The new era takes effect May 1.
"With this selection of a new era name, I renew my commitment to pioneer a new era that will be filled with hope," Abe said. "We hope will be widely accepted by the people and deeply rooted as part of their daily lives," Suga told reporters in first announcing the name, written in two Chinese characters in black ink calligraphy on a white background.
Japanese media scrambled to get scoops out of a new era name. Rumors included "Ankyu," which uses the same Chinese character as in Abe's family name. Several nominations were presented at a first, closed-door meeting that included nine outside experts from various areas, including Nobel prize-winning stem-cell scientist Shinya Yamanaka and award-winning novelist Mariko Hayashi, to present their views and narrow the selection before final approval by the Cabinet.
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