The Chinese Character of 2015
Every year, Japanese citizens vote for a Chinese character (or kanji) to describe the events of the year and display it at the temple above.
This year’s character?
安
Safe. Secure. Stable.
When asked about the choice of character, many Japanese were quick to turn it into a negative.
“I think of 不安 (restless, worried),” said one woman. “With the state the world is in, everything feels so uncertain.”
Others said the decision of the character 安 was a result of the recently passed security law (or the 安全保障法制), which has allowed Japan to actively participate in wars as a military power, much to the chagrin of the Japanese nationals.
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