Chinese character meaning 'safety' selected kanji of the year in Japan

OSAKA - Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Association announced in Kyoto on Tuesday that the Chinese character or kanji meaning "safety" was selected as kanji of the year which best summarizes the year's national mood in Japan, local media reported.

According to the Kyoto-based organization, the selection was based on votes cast by the general public. The character meaning "safety" won 5,632 of the 129,647 votes received in total this year and was chosen as kanji of the year.

In September, Abe administration forced through the upper house of the parliament the controversial security-related bills despite strong protests from the Japanese people. People are concerned about safety issues as the risks of Japan being involved in a war or suffering from terrorist attacks have significantly increased.

The kanji-of-the-year selection event has been held annually since 1995. Last year, the character meaning "tax" was chosen as the consumption tax rate had been raised from 5 percent to 8 percent.