Japan's Kanji of the Year for 2024 reflects the year's positive and negative aspects.
The 2024 Kanji of the Year is 金, representing Japan's Olympic success and economic challenges, with 災 and 翔 as runners-up.
Every December, the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society announces the Kanji of the Year, a character that represents the past year's events. This year’s character is 金 (kin), meaning “gold” or “money.” It was revealed at a ceremony on the balcony of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, where head priest Seihan Mori painted it amid stunning autumn colors.
The choice of 金 reflects a mix of joy and strife. Voters celebrated Japan's 20 gold medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics and the Sado gold mines gaining UNESCO status, but it also represents ongoing economic challenges like rising prices and issues with dark part-time jobs. 金 won with 12,148 votes, followed by 災 (wazawai) for “disaster,” and 翔 (sho) which many linked to baseball star Shohei Ohtani. This marks the fifth time 金 has been named, hinting it might come around again in 2028.
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