Japan govt commissioned experts to make era name proposals

March 25, 2019

Naha, Okinawa Pref.--The Japanese government on March 14 commissioned scholars to make their proposals for the next era name, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Sunday.

Suga will narrow down the possible new names to around three. After its final selection, the government will announce the name of the new era, which will come after the current Heisei, on April 1.

The government is taking procedures to select the next era name, Suga also told reporters during his visit to Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

The procedures call for the government to ask each of a small number of scholars to propose about two to five names, attaching explanations of why they made the proposals.

The scholars are believed to be experts on Japanese and Chinese literature and Japanese and Oriental history. The submitted proposals are kept in a safe in the room of Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuyuki Furuya. Jiji Press