Goodbye to the Heisei Period and Hello to the Reiwa Period

As of today the Heisei (平成) Period in Japan has officially ended, and the Reiwa (令和) Period has officially begun.

Personally, having seen the Heisei Emperor on TV and such, I will definitely miss him.  He really seemed like a cool guy, and really cared about people.  I saw one clip on Japanese TV where he was playing rock-paper-scissors with an elderly woman in a wheelchair some years ago and then gave her a shoulder rub.  In other clips, he plays with school children, etc.  He was a very positive symbol of Japan.

At the same time, it’s fun to be watching a new era of Japan begin.  Both my wife (who is Japanese) and I were born in the 70’s at the end of the Showa Period, so now we have lived through 3 imperial reigns.  The family and I will watch the coronation on Japanese TV, enjoy a good, home-cooked Japanese dinner.

Best wishes to Japan in this new era and a bright future!