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On December 12, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
In regard to “the Kanji of the Year (this year’s Chinese character),” the Prime Minister said,
 
“As one might have expected, ‘wazawai’ (meaning ‘disaster’) was selected as 'the Kanji of the Year (this year’s Chinese character).' This year, Japan indeed experienced numerous disasters. We will exert every effort for recovery and reconstruction so that everyone affected by these disasters return to their daily lives and live with peace of mind at the earliest possible date.  
 
The Chinese character that represents this past year for me is ‘ten’ (meaning ‘turn’ or ‘transition’), as in the saying 'ki-sho-ten-ketsu' (the four-part organization of a narrative, comprising an introduction, development, turn, and conclusion). We started off this year with the gold medal of figure skater Mr. Yuzuru Hanyu with his quadruple (four-revolution) jumps at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Professional shogi player, Mr. Souta Fujii, who is currently ranked 7-dan, also achieved great success this year. Furthermore, tennis player, Ms. Naomi Osaka, won the 2018 U.S. Open. We saw the emergence of the power of youth. This year might be a harbinger of transition to a new generation.   
 
Turning our eyes to international politics, the U.S.-North Korea Summit Meeting was held this year. The state of international trade also underwent significant changes. In addition, from Japan’s perspective or my own perspective, this year also signaled a major turning point in Japan-Russia relations as I held a Japan-Russia Summit Meeting with President Putin in Singapore. .
 
Whether or not the future takes a turn for the better is up to us. Japan faces a significant turning point next year, and I hope to make it a great year for everyone. Thank you very much.”