"A Japan where every person can have hope for tomorrow" sounds like a fairly modest aspiration. But that was the wish that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed for the new Reiwa imperial era, which will begin on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the imperial throne.
For Mr Abe, awakening a sense of optimism is part of a broader mission of national reinvigoration, in which symbolic moments like crowning a new emperor play an important part.
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