A Tokyo department store began selling Thursday pairs of commemorative gold coins featuring the Chinese characters representing Reiwa and Heisei, the respective names of Japan's new and current eras, ahead of the May 1 imperial succession.One set of the solid gold "koban" coins is priced at 1,296,000 yen ($11,600) and sold at the Nihombashi branch of the Takashimaya department store chain.The Japanese era name, or "gengo," is used for the length of an emperor's reign. Japan will welcome the Reiwa era upon Crown Prince Naruhito's ascension to the throne, one day after his father Emperor Akih…READ FULL ARTICLE
