Sayonara Heisei: Over 70% in Japan view 1989-2019 era positively

Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995

Over 70 percent of respondents to a Kyodo News poll said the Heisei era from 1989 was “good” or “relatively good,” with Emperor Akihito set to abdicate on April 30, reported the Kyodo News.

In Japan, an era name is used throughout the length of an emperor’s reign. The new era will begin with Crown Prince Naruhito’s ascension to the throne on May 1.

The mail-in survey conducted from Feb. 6 to March 14 covered 3,000 individuals aged 18 or older across Japan. Valid responses were received from 1,930, of whom 50.4 percent were male and 49.6 percent were female.

Asked about their impression of the Heisei era that began in 1989, 14 percent said it was “good” and 59 percent “relatively good,” while 3 percent and 23 percent responded “bad” and “relatively bad,” respectively.

By age, 29 percent of those under 30, the largest group among all age brackets, said the Heisei era was good, probably because they have no memory of the economic boom that preceded the stagnation during their youth.

In contrast, only 10 percent of those aged 60 or over gave a positive assessment of the era.

Although the era was viewed positively overall despite a prolonged economic downturn, domestic and international events that made a lasting impression included natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Asked a multiple-choice question about the top domestic news event of the Heisei era, 70 percent cited the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that triggered a crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The deadly 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the AUM Shinrikyo cult was cited by 50 percent, followed by the Great Hanshin Earthquake that hit Kobe and its vicinity in western Japan earlier that year at 40 percent.

Regarding the top international news story, 44 percent cited the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

Some of the greatest social changes during the Heisei era involved the spread of the internet and women’s advancement.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said Japanese society has become more intolerant, while 41 percent disagreed.

On the spread of the internet, 86 percent viewed it positively and 13 percent did not, with 61 percent of those under 30 having a favorable view, in contrast with only 23 percent of those aged 70 or older.

Dissatisfaction with progress on gender equality during the Heisei era was widespread, with 86 percent of respondents believing women had not achieved equality with men. Seventy-three percent of women and 71 percent of men said while there had been an improvement in women’s status, it was insufficient.

The equal employment opportunity law came into force in Japan in 1986, but many women are still forced to abandon their careers to take care of their children and households.

The percentage of women who thought there had been hardly any improvement in their status was 7 points higher than men who thought the same, while the percentage of men who said gender equality had been achieved was 9 points higher than women who said so.

While only 13 percent said the status of women was satisfactory, younger respondents appeared more satisfied with the level of female empowerment, with 18 percent of those in their 30s and younger viewing it as satisfactory compared with 10 percent among those in their 60s and older.

Regarding sports figures who represented the Heisei era, baseball player Ichiro Suzuki took first place followed by figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Mao Asada, a former figure skating world champion.

In the world of entertainment, Japanese boy band SMAP, which disbanded in late 2016, was first, with its song “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” (The Only Flower in the World) cited as the most liked piece of music of the era.

As for best prime minister, 77 percent cited Junichiro Koizumi, who said he would “break” his own Liberal Democratic Party, 38 percent said incumbent Shinzo Abe and 22 percent cited Noboru Takeshita, whose government introduced the consumption tax in 1989.

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