The Japanese emperor picks a regnal name when he takes the throne, just like the Pope.
The name is actually the name of the emperor, not the name of the era. In Japan, nobody uses the emperor's birth name; they just use the regnal name. For example, nobody in Japan says "Hirohito"; they refer to him as "Emperor Showa" instead (though nobody calls Akihito "Emperor Heisei" now, because it's considered rude to refer to the living emperor by name... he's just "His Majesty, the Emperor").
Note that this wasn't the case until the 19th century. Until Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) took the throne in 1867, the name of the emperor and the name of the era were completely decoupled, and the emperor would just arbitrarily start eras whenever he felt like it. Meiji changed all this and standardized Japan on a one-emperor, one-era system. And in 1979 (!), it actually became law.
Oh wow, it must be insane to be co-author to the emperor!
From the outside it's a weird juxtaposion of a traditional, old (from a European point of view) system of state and an everyday modern way of conducting scientific research. You'd just not expect this kind of contact, somehow.
> From the outside it's a weird juxtaposion of a traditional, old (from a European point of view) system of state and an everyday modern way of conducting scientific research. You'd just not expect this kind of contact, somehow.
Well, what seems to be the most visible European monarchy outside of its own country (the British) seems to still largely adhere to the custom of the monarch (and, to a lesser extent, the close royal family) refraining from anything that looks like work (military service of the close royal family being a notable exception) outside of royal duties, which might color that expectation.
> Prince William is a professional coast guard helicopter pilot.
That was among his military roles, yes; perhaps more to the point he took a paid (though his entire salary was donated) position as a pilot with the East Anglia Air Ambulance for a couple years, which I think was a bit unusual (but as it was paid work for a charity with the whole salary donated back to the charity, arguably is really a form of charity volunteer work, which probably should be listed as an exception along with military service for the close royal family.)
This seems to be common misconception. Akihito is NOT "Emperor Heisei" now. The name is always given posthumously (though it is yet to be seen for Akihito if he will be named immediately after abdication or also posthumously.
It is severely rude simply because it implies that said person is already dead.
Thanks. This contextualises something for me. In 1989, I asked a Japanese friend about Hirohito - his death or something - and the guy just couldn't understand what I was talking about. My friend's English wasn't very good and my pronunciation of the name possibly also didn't help.
The name is actually the name of the emperor, not the name of the era. In Japan, nobody uses the emperor's birth name; they just use the regnal name. For example, nobody in Japan says "Hirohito"; they refer to him as "Emperor Showa" instead (though nobody calls Akihito "Emperor Heisei" now, because it's considered rude to refer to the living emperor by name... he's just "His Majesty, the Emperor").
Note that this wasn't the case until the 19th century. Until Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) took the throne in 1867, the name of the emperor and the name of the era were completely decoupled, and the emperor would just arbitrarily start eras whenever he felt like it. Meiji changed all this and standardized Japan on a one-emperor, one-era system. And in 1979 (!), it actually became law.