TOKYO -- The world remembers 1989 as a year of era-defining events. Pro-democracy rallies were crushed in China's Tiananmen Square that June, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in November heralded the end of the Cold War. But in Japan, 1989 is permanently imprinted on the national consciousness for another reason: It was the year that the Showa era ended. Emperor Hirohito's death on Jan. 7, 1989 stopped the clock on the 64-year Showa era, a tumultuous period that included the Second World War and the postwar boom that followed. A new era, Heisei, began a day later when his son Akihito became Japan's 125th emperor. The change from Showa to Heisei had a practical impact on the everyday lives of Japanese people. On wall calendars and official documents all over the country, Jan. 8, 1989 became the first day of Heisei 1 on the Imperial calendar, which is used alongside the Gregorian calendar. But these Imperial eras also serve as unofficial markers of the spirit of the times, similar to the way decades come to reflect the zeitgeist of a period. The "Roaring '20s" are remembered as a decade of gin-soaked parties, jazz and extravagance. The 1950s are defined by Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, while the 1960s are associated with the Beatles and youthful protest. Now, as Japan prepares for the end of the Heisei era on April 30, when Emperor Akihito abdicates the throne, the country is taking stock of the complicated 30-year period -- and looking anxiously toward the as-yet-unnamed new Imperial age.
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