As Japan prepares for the abdication of its current emperor in May 2019, thereby ending the Heisei Era as it makes the transition to a new emperor, the second most popular Chinese character in this year's poll was "hei" (平). "Hei" is one of two kanji that make up "Heisei" (平成), the name of the reign of the current Emperor of Japan, who is typically known in the rest of the world as Akihito: While the most popular character was "wazawai", number-two was "hei" (平) with some commentators stating it is the end of the Heisei (平成) Era in Japan.