EDITORIAL: Each Japanese has own feelings, thoughts about era names

One month before Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne, the new “gengo” era name was decided and announced on April 1.

Reiwa breaks with the long tradition of using Chinese classics as a source since it originates from a passage in “Manyoshu,” Japan’s oldest known poetry anthology. This is the first confirmed adoption of an era name that has its source in a Japanese classical text.

It was also the first time that a new era name was announced before imperial succession since the country established a constitutional government in the late 19th century.

The process of selecting the new era name was different from when the Showa Era ended in early 1989 and the current Heisei Era started due to the death of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa.

After Emperor Showa fell gravely ill, the process was carried out in deep secrecy. This time around, the schedule and formal procedures for the selection were announced in advance.

Unlike in the closing days of the Showa Era, there was no gloomy mood of self-restraint among the public, and many people offered their own predictions.

At one company’s entrance ceremony, all the new recruits showed their own choices. It appears that Japanese greeted the day with different thoughts and feelings.

The gengo system has its origins in ancient China, where it was based on the notion that the emperor controlled time.

Japan has maintained the principle of “one era name for each emperor,” which was institutionalized in the Meiji Era (1868-1912). Under the postwar Constitution, which gives sovereign power to the people, however, Japanese have apparently become fully accustomed to switching between the calendar keyed to the imperial era and the Western calendar depending on the situation.

It is, however, difficult for the government to claim that it put top priority on people’s daily lives in deciding the new era name just one month before the change of the era.

Initially, the government considered announcing the decision last summer to avoid creating confusion. But the date for the announcement was eventually chosen in consideration of the conservatives, who argued that the new era name should be determined under the new emperor.

Consequently, both the public and private sectors have to race against the clock in changing their computer programs.

The government’s stance toward recording and disclosing information concerning the process has also been called into question.

The government is legally allowed to keep official documents confidential for 30 years, in principle. But the records concerning the process of selecting Heisei as the era name following Showa have yet to be made public.

The government has displayed a strong reluctance to disclose the information. In addition, it is said that the records about the person who proposed Heisei no longer remain.

This time, the government intends to keep the records about all the individuals who made the proposals.

The government should keep detailed records of the entire process of selecting Reiwa, including discussions among the panel of experts tasked with evaluating the proposals, and disclose them at an appropriate time for historical examination.

First of all, it should make the records concerning the selection of Heisei available to public access as early as possible.

We also want to urge the government to establish the rule that both the era name and the year on the Gregorian calendar should be displayed on public documents.

The Western calendar has become widely used in Japan, and the number of foreign nationals that use public services will only continue growing.

The rules concerning the use of the calendar should be changed in response to changes of the times.

At an April 1 news conference, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked for public support for the gengo system. He said the era names are “part of the emotional fabric of Japanese” and “provide a sense of unity” to the people.

Needless to say, however, each Japanese has his or her own feelings and thoughts about the system.

It goes without saying that the change of the era name will not cause any immediate change in society.

Each person living in this society today contributes in his or her unique way to building a new future and changing history.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 2