Everything about Heisei totally explained
is the current
era name in
Japan. The Heisei era started on
January 8,
1989, just one day after the death of the reigning Emperor,
Hirohito. His son,
Akihito, succeeded to the throne. In accordance with Japanese customs, Hirohito was renamed "
Emperor Shōwa" on January 31, as were
posthumoused Mutsuhito as
Emperor Meiji and Yoshihito as
Emperor Taishō.
Thus 1989 corresponds to Shōwa 64 up to the 7th day of the first month (January 7) and to since the 8th day of the first month (January 8). [[]] is Heisei -1988}}.
History and Meaning
On
January 7,
1989, at 7:55 AM, the grand steward of Japan's Imperial Household Agency, Shoichi Fujimori, officially announced Emperor Showa's death, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. Shortly after the death of the Emperor,
Keizo Obuchi, then Chief Cabinet Secretary and later Prime Minister of Japan, publicly announced the end of the Showa era, and heralded the new era name "Heisei" for the new incoming Emperor, and explained the meaning of the name.
According to Obuchi, the name "Heisei" was taken from two
Chinese history and philosophy books, namely
Records of the Grand Historian (史記
Shiji) and the
Classic of History (書経
Shujing). In the
Shiji, the sentence "内平外成" (peace inside and prosperity outward) appears in a section honoring the wise rule of the legendary Chinese
Emperor Shun. In the
Shujing, the sentence "地平天成" (the land is peaceful and the sky is clear) appears. By combining both meanings, Heisei is intended to mean "peace everywhere". The Heisei era went into effect immediately after the announcement of the new emperor on
January 8th,
1989.
Events
1989 marked the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growth spurts in Japanese history. With a strong
yen and a favorable exchange rate with the
American Dollar, the
Bank of Japan kept interest rates low, sparking an investment boom that drove
Tokyo property values up sixty percent within the year. Shortly before New Year's Day, the
Nikkei 225 reached its record high of 39,000. By
1991, it had fallen to 15,000, signifying the end of Japan's famed "
bubble economy". Subsequently, Japan experienced the "Great Slump in Heisei", which consisted of more than a decade of price deflation and largely stagnant GDP as Japan's banks struggled to resolve their bad debts and companies in other sectors struggled to restructure. Recently, however, commentators are pointing to signs that Japan's economy is emerging from the slump.
The
Recruit Scandal of
1988 had already eroded public confidence in the
Liberal Democratic Party, which had controlled the Japanese government for 38 years. In
1993, the LDP was ousted by a coalition led by
Morihiro Hosokawa. However, the coalition collapsed as parties had gathered to simply overthrow LDP and lacked a unified position on almost every social issue. The LDP returned to the government in
1994, when it helped to elect Japan Socialist (later Social Democrat)
Tomiichi Murayama as prime minister.
In
1995, there was a large
earthquake in
Kobe (see
Great Hanshin earthquake). The same year, there was a
sarin gas
terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system by the
doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo (see
Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway). Failure of the Japanese government to react to these events promptly led to the formation of
NGOs which have been playing an increasingly important role in Japanese politics since.
The Heisei period also marked Japan's cautious reemergence on the world stage as a world military power. In
1991, Japan pledged billions of dollars to support the
Gulf War but constitutional arguments prevented a participation in or support of actual war. Iran criticised Japan for just pledging money and didn't appreciate the way Japan co-operated in the Gulf War. Mine sweepers were sent after the war as a part of the reconstruction effort. Following the second invasion of Iraq, in
2003, Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet approved a plan to send a total of about 1,000 soldiers of the
Japan Self-Defense Forces to help in
Iraq's reconstruction, the biggest overseas troop deployment since
World War II without the sanction of the
United Nations. These troops were deployed in
2004.
On
October 23,
2004, the
Heisei 16 Niigata Prefecture Earthquakes rocked the
Hokuriku region, killing 52 and injuring hundreds (see
2004 Chūetsu earthquake).
In Autumn 2007
Yasuo Fukuda became Prime Minister after the sudden resignation of
Shinzo Abe, following his election defeat earlier in the year.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Heisei'.
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