The government intends to appoint at least one female member to the panel of experts tasked with providing opinions to serve as a reference for deciding the name of the new era on April 1.
It hopes to appoint more than one female member, as one woman took part in the eight-member panel of experts when "Heisei" was announced as the new era name in January 1989.
In addition, a classical Japanese scholar is among the scholars that the government has asked to recommend names for the new era, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The government is slated to decide on and announce the new era name on April 1, ahead of the crown prince's enthronement as emperor and the start of the new era on May 1.
Following the same process used to select Heisei, the government will first narrow down a list of candidates chosen by scholars to about three names. It will then convene a meeting of experts on April 1 to canvass their opinions on the best name for the new era.
Finally, after hearing the opinions of the top two lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, the new era name will officially be designated by an order adopted at a Cabinet meeting.
The meeting of experts convened when the era name was changed to Heisei comprised eight members, including representatives from mass media and education. The sole female member was Yoko Nuita, former president of the National Women's Education Center, an independent administrative institution.
While the government plans to keep the number of experts on the panel largely unchanged, it is prepared to "consider the changing times" in selecting its members, according to a high-ranking official. In light of women's advancements in society, the government aims to create a panel that reflects the opinions of the people as broadly as possible.
Meanwhile, some are of the opinion that books in Japanese written in Japan should be used as a reference for deciding the new era name. The government has so far received more than 100 submissions from scholars for the new name, including proposals by a scholar of Japanese classics.
However, of the 247 era names up to Heisei, every one whose source could be confirmed has come from Chinese classics. All of the candidate names that were presented at the last meeting of experts to discuss the new era name, including Heisei, came from Chinese classics.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
