Information about Heisei

History of Japan
Paleolithic 35000–14000 BCE Jōmon period 14000–300 BCE Yayoi period 300 BCE–250 CE Kofun period 250–538 Asuka period 538–710 Nara period 710–794 Heian period 794–1185 Kamakura period 1185–1333 Kemmu restoration 1333–1336 Muromachi period 1336–1573 Nanboku-chō period 1336–1392 Sengoku period Azuchi-Momoyama period 1568–1603 Nanban trade Edo period 1603–1868 Late Tokugawa shogunate Meiji period 1868–1912 Meiji Restoration Taishō period 1912–1926 Japan in WWI Shōwa period 1926–1989 Japanese expansionism Occupied Japan Post-Occupation Japan Heisei 1989–present
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Glossary

Heisei (Japanese: 平成) is the current era name in Japan. The Heisei era started on January 8, 1989. In 1989, Akihito, the current emperor of Japan succeeded to the throne, after the death of his father, Hirohito, the Showa Emperor. Thus that year corresponds to Heisei 1 (Japanese: 平成元年, Heisei gannen; gannen means "first year"). is Heisei 0.

Meaning

The name "Heisei" is taken from two Chinese history and philosophy books, namely Records of the Grand Historian (史記 Shiki) and the Classic of History (書経 Shokyō). In Shiki, the sentence "内平外成" (peace inside and prosperity outward) appears in the part honoring the wise rule of the legendary Chinese Emperor Shun. In Shokyō, the sentence "地平天成" (land is peaceful and sky is clear) appears. By combining both meanings, Heisei is to mean "peace everywhere".

Events

1989 marked the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growth spurts in Japanese history. With a strong yen and a favorable exchange rate with the American Dollar, the Bank of Japan kept interest rates low, sparking an investment boom that drove Tokyo property values up sixty percent within the year. Shortly before New Year's Day, the Nikkei 225 reached its record high of 39,000. By 1991, it had fallen to 15,000, signifying the end of Japan's famed "bubble economy." Subsequently, Japan experienced the "Great Slump in Heisei", which consisted of more than a decade of price deflation and largely stagnant GDP as Japan's banks struggled to resolve their bad debts and companies in other sectors struggled to restructure. Recently, however, commentators are pointing to signs that Japan's economy is emerging from the slump.

The Recruit Scandal of 1988 had already eroded public confidence in the Liberal Democratic Party, which had controlled the Japanese government for 38 years. In 1993, the LDP was ousted by a coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa. However, the coalition collapsed as parties had gathered to simply overthrow LDP and lacked a unified position on almost every social issue. The LDP returned to the government in 1996, when it helped to elect Japan Socialist (later Social Democrat) Tomiichi Murayama as prime minister.

In 1995, there was a large earthquake in Kobe (see Great Hanshin earthquake). The same year, there was a sarin gas terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo (see Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway). Failure of the Japanese government to react to these events promptly led to the formation of NGOs which have been playing an increasingly important role in Japanese politics since.

The Heisei period also marked Japan's reemergence on the world stage as a world military power. In 1991, Japan pledged billions of dollars to support the Gulf War but constitutional arguments prevented a participation in or support of actual war. Iran criticised Japan for just pledging money and didn't appreciate the way Japan co-operated in the Gulf War. Mine sweepers were sent after the war as a part of the reconstruction effort. Following the second invasion of Iraq, in 2003, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet approved a plan to send a total of about 1,000 soldiers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces to help in Iraq's reconstruction, the biggest overseas troop deployment since World War II without the sanction of the United Nations. These troops were deployed in 2004.

On October 23, 2004, the Heisei 16 Niigata Prefecture Earthquakes rocked the Hokuriku region, killing 52 and injuring hundreds (see 2004 Chūetsu earthquake).

Notes

References

See also

• Japanese era name

Heisei	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Gregorian	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008

Preceded by: Shōwa

Heisei

Succeeded by: -

In the context of Japanese monster cinema (daikaiju eiga) the Heisei Era refers not to the current era in Japan but to all daikaiju eiga made between 1984 (Toho's The Return of Godzilla) and 1999 (Daiei's ).
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history of Japan began with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century AD. However, archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the upper paleolithic period.
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Japanese Paleolithic (旧石器時代, kyū-sekki-jidai
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Kamakura period (鎌倉時代, Kamakura-jidai
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Kemmu Restoration (建武の新政; Kemmu no shinsei) was a period of Japanese history that occurred from 1333 to 1336.^[1] It marks the three year period between the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and the rise of the Ashikaga shogunate, when
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Muromachi period (Japanese: 室町時代, Muromachi-jidai, also known as the Muromachi era, the Muromachi bakufu, the Ashikaga era, the Ashikaga period, or the Ashikaga bakufu
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Warring States period (戦国時代, sengoku jidai
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Nanban trade (Japanese: 南蛮貿易, nanban-bōeki, "Southern barbarian trade") or the Nanban trade period (Japanese: 南蛮貿易時代, nanban-bōeki-jidai
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Late Tokugawa Shogunate (Japanese: 幕末 Bakumatsu) is the period between 1853 and 1867 during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy called sakoku
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Japanese nationalism refers to a broad range of ideas and sentiments entertained by the Japanese over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny.
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At the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States. This was the first time since the unification of Japan that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power.
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History of Japan

• Paleolithic 35000–14000 BCE
• Jōmon period 14000–300 BCE
• Yayoi period 300 BCE–250 CE
• Kofun period

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Economic history of Japan is one of the most studied for its spectacular growth after the Second World War when the island nation rose to become the world's second largest economy.
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history of education in Japan dates back at least to the sixth century, when Chinese learning was introduced at the Yamato court. Foreign civilizations have often provided new ideas for the development of Japan's own culture.
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military history of Japan is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then foreign conquest. It culminates with Japan's defeat by the Allies in World War II.
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naval history of Japan can be said to begin in early interactions with states on the Asian continent in the early centuries of the 1st millennium, reaching a pre-modern peak of activity during the 16th century, a time of cultural exchange with European powers and extensive trade
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glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject.

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• ashigaru

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This article contains Japanese text.
Without proper ,
you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of kanji or kana.

Japanese
日本語
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The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the Japanese era name (年号
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