Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is already expected to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister later this year. Could his name live on through an entire generation?
By a coincidence of timing and tradition, a character from the prime minister’s surname is being discussed as a contender to describe the new era when Emperor Akihito’s son, Naruhito, ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1. The name is a closely guarded secret and will be formally announced April 1, kicking off the country’s first imperial succession in more than three decades.
