Japan, Tokyo -About one-third of respondents in a recent Mainichi Shimbun opinion poll said they mainly use the Imperial era name to describe the year, a figure around half the 64 percent recorded 30 years ago.
Japan uses the Imperial era name system along with the Western calendar, and choses one era name for each Emperor. A new name will be announced on April 1, one month before Crown Prince Naruhito succeeds Emperor Akihito and ascends to the Imperial throne.
A total of 34 percent of respondents said they mainly use the era name, matching the percentage of respondents who said they use both the era name and the Western calendar. Another 25 percent said they mainly depend on the Western system.
Source and full English article: The Mainichi
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190205/p2a/00m/0na/003000c
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