Q&A: What is gengo and why is its change so important in Japan?

The government on Monday announced the name of the era, or "gengo," that will commence upon the enthronement of the new emperor on May 1. The following are questions and answers regarding Japanese era names.Q: What is gengo?A: It is an era name, used for the length of an emperor's reign in modern Japan. It originated in ancient China, where an emperor was thought to control not just land but time as well. It had spread to Vietnam, the Korean Peninsula and other regions under China's influence, but they all stopped using the system eventually, and Japan has become the sole country in the wor…READ FULL ARTICLE