Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicated on 30 April 2019, succeeded by his elder son Naruhito. A new emperor will always use a new era name (年号 nengō). Until 30 April 2019 the era name was 平成 Heisei. As Japan has now passed into 1 May at 00:00 (30 April 18:00 for Central Europe), the era […]