By YOKO HIBINO/ Staff Writer
December 13, 2023 at 18:50 JST
Seihan Mori, the chief priest of Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto, draws the kanji character “zei,” or tax, on Dec. 12. (Yoshiaki Arai)
KYOTO--“Zei,” or tax, was selected as the kanji character of 2023, reflecting heated political debate over tax policies.
The Kyoto-based Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation announced on Dec. 12 that zei won the most votes with 5,976 of the 147,878 suggestions received nationwide.
In a traditional annual event held at the famed Kiyomizudera temple here, chief priest Seihan Mori drew the character on a large sheet of paper using a calligraphy brush.
“The selection of tax reminded me of financial challenges facing Japan,” said Mori. “And how taxes are spent is under intense public scrutiny.”
“I hope taxes are used to serve people’s well-being,” he added.
Over the year, lawmakers discussed tax hikes to fund a growing defense budget as well as tax breaks to address the rising cost of living.
The kanji character for tax was selected for the second time, with the first being in 2014.
In second place this year was “sho,” or hot, with 5,571 votes, reflecting the extremely hot summer.
In third was “sen,” or war, reflecting armed conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere.
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