The government intends to announce the name of the new era to follow Heisei on or after April 1 next year, before the crown prince's enthronement on May 1 and the subsequent change of the era name, it has been learned.
Taking into account the views of some conservative lawmakers who oppose making the announcement in advance, the government decided to shorten as much as possible the period between the announcement and the new era's starting date, according to sources.
The government has been trying to determine how long it will take to modify public and private sector systems that are linked to the change of an era. It plans to make a final decision on the timing of the announcement of the new era's name as early as the end of this year, when the government's findings are due to come out, the sources said.
As part of efforts to avoid confusion in people's lives, the government plans to announce the name in advance to secure time for system modifications, they said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in May it would take about one month to adjust relevant systems, and the government confirmed its plan to proceed with preparations on the assumption that the announcement of the name would be made a month before its start, when the crown prince becomes the new emperor.
Therefore the government had been exploring a plan to announce the name after the ceremony commemorating 30 years of Emperor's reign, slated for Feb. 24, as the Emperor's official duties will be relatively light after the ceremony.
Yet conservative elements of the Liberal Democratic Party and other parties place importance on the system to assign an era name to the reign of each emperor. They think Heisei and the new era will coexist until the crown prince's enthronement, if the announcement of the new era name is made in advance during the current Emperor's reign. Those who have opposed a prior announcement indicated strong concern that this could lead to a "duality of authority of the Emperor."
They are strongly pressing the government to announce the new era name after the enthronement of the crown prince.
For this reason, the government decided to explore making the announcement on or after April 1.
However, the government intends to stick to its plan to make a prior announcement at an appropriate time because some systems will need time for modification, based on its position of giving top priority to avoiding confusion in people's lives, a senior source in the Cabinet Secretariat said.
Some government officials said the government should clarify when the prior announcement will be made, so the public and private sectors concerned can start taking steps effectively by securing enough personnel to handle modifications and other concerns.
Even if the announcement date is delayed to within one month after the change of the era name, members of the public and privtate sectors are expected to be able to handle it if they are made aware and are fully prepared.
Lawmakers have said it is unfortuante that media coverage has been so heated, and the government will continue discussing this issue.
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