Japan's Kanji of the Year is '金'... Influenced by Gold Medals and Secret Fund Scandals

The Chinese character symbolizing the events that took place in Japan throughout 2024 was selected as '金 (geum, meaning gold or metal)'.

On the 12th, Kyodo News, NHK, and other outlets reported that the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation announced the results of the "Kanji of the Year" selection at Kiyomizudera Temple, located in Kyoto City in western Honshu. The foundation collected opinions from the 1st to the 9th of last month, and with a total of 12,148 votes, '金' received the highest number of votes and was chosen as the Kanji of the Year.

On the 12th, the head monk at Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto City, western Honshu, Japan, is writing the "Kanji of the Year," "金 (geum, gold)." Photo by Kyodo News

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The character '金' reflects the achievements of Japanese athletes who won many gold medals at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, as well as the outstanding performance of Shohei Ohtani, who set a historic Major League Baseball record by achieving 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Japanese athletes secured 20 gold medals at the Paris Olympics, ranking third overall, and won 14 gold medals at the Paralympics. Additionally, social issues such as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "slush fund scandal" and an illegal part-time job incident involving false job advertisements on social networking services (SNS) that led to applicants being coerced into robbery crimes also contributed to '金' being selected as the Kanji of the Year.

Kyodo News interpreted this as highlighting two aspects: the "shining gold" of gold medal victories and the "dark shadow of gold" related to the slush fund issues. This is the first time in three years since 2021 that '金' has been chosen as the Kanji of the Year in Japan, and it is the fifth time since the event began in 1995. The character '金' was also selected as the Kanji of the Year in 2000, 2012, 2016, and 2021.

The second most voted character this year was '災 (jae, meaning disaster)', which received 9,772 votes. This is believed to reflect the impact of the Noto Peninsula earthquake and flooding in January. The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has selected the Kanji of the Year annually since 1995 and announces it on December 12, the "Day of Kanji." On this day at Kyoto’s Kiyomizudera, Chief Priest Mori Seihan performed a calligraphy demonstration by writing the character '金' in large brush strokes on a paper measuring 130 cm wide and 150 cm tall.

Meanwhile, last year’s Kanji of the Year in Japan was '稅 (se, meaning tax)', influenced by discussions on tax increases and cuts, and the 2022 Kanji of the Year was '戰 (jeon, meaning war)', reflecting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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