Japan commemorates Heisei era’s last day with Emperor Akihito’s abdication

The Heisei period started in Japan on January 8, 1989, the day after the death of Emperor Hirohito when his son, Akihito, acceded to the throne as the 125th Emperor.

Japan finally marks the end of the Heisei era on April 30, 2019. Google bids adieu to the Heisei period with a mesmerizing doodle.

The Heisei period started in Japan on January 8, 1989, the day after the death of Emperor Hirohito when his son, Akihito, acceded to the throne as the 125^th Emperor. Emperor Hirohito was posthumously renamed 'Emperor Shōwa' on January 31, 1989.

The Heisei period is set to end on April 30, 2019, with the abdication of the current Emperor. This makes the way for his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. A ceremony called 'Taiirei-Seiden-no-Giis' going to take place on Emperor Akihito's abdication day from 5 pm in the 'Matsu no Ma' room at the Imperial Palace. The Emperor will deliver a speech to the nation, his last as Japan's reigning monarch.

The tradition of naming eras dates back to 645 A.D. when Japan's Emperor Kōtoku took the throne, ushering in a series of reforms to bring about a fair system of government. Emperor Akihito will wrap his pursuit in the traditional way followed since centuries in Japan for the unity of the common citizen while closing the curtain of the Heisei era after a little more than 30 years and three months. Crown Prince Naruhito will accede to the Imperial Throne on May 1.

The statistics revealed by the government of Japan in the last three decades of the Heisei period highlight the country's population getting smaller and greyer with the rapid growth of Internet users. According to NHK World-Japan, the country's population has been shrinking since 2011, after peaking at 128 million in 2008, the statistics by internal affairs show. In 2015, the number of people 75 years old and above exceeded that of people 14 years and younger for the first time.

On the other hand, the source also claims that the lifestyles of Japanese people have highly transformed in the Heisei era. Due to the high usage of mobile phones and the Internet, the families are paying high bills to telecom brands. The average monthly expense per household last year was nearly 120 dollars or more than twice as much as the figure 30 years ago. Japan also observed several disasters, both natural and man-made during the Heisei period.

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