News Headlines - 01 April 2019

▽Japan reveals name of new imperial era will be 'Reiwa' - BBC News

Japan has announced that the name of its new imperial era, set to begin on 1 May, will be "Reiwa" - signifying order and harmony.
The country's current era, Heisei, will end in a month with Emperor Akihito's historic abdication.

▽Japan chooses new imperial era of 'Reiwa' from Japanese rather than Chinese source for first time

Unusually, the new era name was not selected from traditional Chinese texts, as has been the case since Japan’s first gengo began more than 1,300 years ago in 645AD.
Instead, Reiwa was taken from a Japanese classic for the first time in the nation’s history, with the word originating from 7th century Manyoshu, the country’s oldest existing collection of poetry... The decision to subvert tradition and use a Japanese rather than Chinese text to mark a new and modern era for Japan appears to tie in with the nationalist leanings of prime minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative government.

▽New Japanese era a boon for Aussie property website - CNA

The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia said it had an unexpected surge in traffic to its website - Reiwa.com - after the era of emperor Naruhito's rule was named.
Seventy per cent of the day's traffic to reiwa.com was from Japan, according to institute spokeswoman Sjanna Sandalova.
In Japanese, "Reiwa" consists of two characters: "Rei", which can have meanings related to "order" but also "auspicious" and "Wa", usually translated as "peace" or "harmony".
For the many residents of Perth, REIWA is synonymous with the hunt for a two-bedroom apartment near the Swan River.

▽2 Japanese teenagers found drowned in Australian lake - Japan Today

Two 16-year-old Japanese boys have been found dead in Australia's Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island after being reported missing while in Queensland state on a school homestay tour.
The boys' bodies were discovered by police divers on Saturday morning.

▽Thai police arrest 15 Japanese in Pattaya call center scam targeting Japan | The Japan Times

Thai police have said 15 Japanese have been arrested for alleged involvement in a call center scam that defrauded people in their homeland.
The police said Friday that the 15 were arrested following a raid on an upscale house in the beach resort town of Pattaya... The sources said the police launched an investigation after rumors began circulating of a Japanese gang running a phone scam in town.