It is the end of an era in Japan.

And the start of a new one.

Reiwa era

The land of the rising sun announced on Monday, April 1 the start of the nation's new "Reiwa" era.

The new era will be replacing the Heisei period that lasted for 30 years.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga made the announcement at 11:30am (10:30am Singapore time) a month before Crown Prince Naruhito is due to ascend the throne on May 1, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

The new era will start when Naruhito becomes the new emperor, after an unusual abdication by Emperor Akihito -- most Japanese emperors rule till their death.

Yoshihide also said that Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would explain the meaning of the era name, or gengo, shortly in a national address.

The current era name "Heisei" literally means "become peace".

Significance of era names

Era names are used to describe periods of history in the country.

For instance, the Showa era, which is from 1926 to 1989, represented a turbulent period that started with Japan's militarisation and the Second World War, followed by the nation's defeat and its subsequent rise as a new global economic power, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

The next Heisei era (1989 to 2019) represented the collapse of the bubble economy, which was followed by nearly two decades of economic stagnation.

While the system of era names originated in China, Japan incorporated it into its system under Emperor Kotoku in 645.

Japan uses the Imperial calendar

Japan still uses the Imperial calendar to indicate the dates in official documents such as driver's licenses, the dates of newspapers and train tickets, although more and more Japanese prefer the Western calendar over the Japanese system.

But many Japanese still use era names to refer to years and ages.

For instance, the current year of 2019 is known as Heisei 31, while someone born in the year 1991 is said to be born in Heisei 3 (Heisei san nen, 平成3年).

From May 1, 2019 the year will be known as Reiwa 1.

Top image via KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images