New name unveiled to end Japan's Heisei Era

As Japan's three-decade-old Heisei Era takes its final steps and a new emperor prepares to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, Tokyo on Monday announced a new name to be used starting May 1 to mark the change.

"The new era name will be Reiwa," said Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga at a news conference on Monday after unveiling the gengo - the name of an era in Japanese - that was written in calligraphy on rice paper with ink and brush and displayed.

Every emperor in Japan has his own gengo, which typically comprises two characters, or kanji in Japanese, a writing system that has its roots in China.