Kyoto, December 12
Kyodo News
Obama-inspired kanji chosen as best characterizing 2008
''Hen,'' which means ''change'' in English, has been chosen as the single best kanji to characterize the year 2008, a Kyoto-based kanji promotion organization said Friday.
The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation said it received a total of 111,208 entries for its poll to select the single best kanji reflecting society in 2008.
According to the Asahi Shimbun story (Japanese only), the Kanji Kentei association says the "changes" considered included the multiple Japanese prime ministers, the election of Obama in the U.S., the fall in stock markets, the changes in the dollar/yen exchange rate, increased awareness of food safety, environmental change and global warming, and the increased appearance of Japanese people in the fields of sports and science.
Last year's FG thread about Kanji Of The Year is here:
Japan 2007 best described as FRAUD
