Today, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation revealed the 2024 Kanji of the Year in its annual ceremony at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Not surprisingly, this year’s repeat kanji reflects a Japan that relished its sports victories – and reeled from a political financial scandal.
The Foundation, which has run the vote since 1995, asked the public to vote on the year’s kanji. The winner is then written at Kiyomizu-dera by Mori Seihan, the famous Buddhist temple’s chief priest.
The kanji chosen was 金 (kin; kane), – “money” or “gold.” In a funny turn of events, while some commenters on video site NicoNico Doga recognized it immediately, others had trouble deciphering Mori’s handwriting, with something saying it looked like 毛 (mou, ke), or hair, or 重 (juu, omo), or heavy. (“Sloppy-ass writing??,” one user griped.)
It’s a repeat of the 2021 Kanji of the Year and the fifth time since 1995 that the kanji has won. That year, the kanji reflected Japan’s gold medal wins at the Olympics. It was also a constant topic of discussion thanks to the Japanese government’s COVID-19 subsidies, which kept many businesses and families afloat during health lockdowns.

This year, kin/kane received even more votes than in 2021 – 12,148 out of 221,971, or 5.47% of the total. The selection this year, writes the Foundation on its website, can also be said to reflect Japan’s victories at the Olympics and Paralympics as well as Ohtani Shohei’s “shining” performance.
However, 金 also reflects the role that slush fund money (裏金; uragane) played in undermining people’s faith in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP lost a majority of seats in Japan’s Lower House for the first time in 15 years.
【LIVE】2024年「今年の漢字」は「金」模様を生配信 1年の世相表す1字は?去年は「税」2022年は「戦」2021年は「金」あなたにとっての一字は?
「2024年今年の漢字」 ▼発表日・発表場所:12月12日(木)京都・清水寺にて ▼当日の流れ 午後2時ごろ~:「今年の漢字」の発表 清水寺・森清範貫主による揮毫(奥の院・舞台) 「今年の漢字」奉納儀式 記者会見 その年の世相を表す漢字を選ぶ「今年の漢字」(日本漢字能力検定協会主催)が12月12日午後2時過ぎに京都市東山区にある「清水寺」で発表されます。その模様をライブ配信いたします。 これまで選ばれてきた今年の漢字は次の通りです。 ▼2023年「税」 ▼2022年「戦」 ▼2021年「金」 ▼2020年「密」 ▼2019年「令」 ▼2018年「災」 ▼2017年「北」 ▼2016年「金」 ▼2015年「安」 ▼2014年「税」 ▼2013年「輪」 ▼2012年「金」 ▼2011年「絆」 ▼2010年「暑」 #今年の漢字 #清水寺 #世相 #日本漢字能力検定協会
Money also played a role in one of Japan’s more disturbing trends: the rise of yami baito (闇バイト), or “dark gig economy” jobs. The country has seen an escalating number of cases in which criminals covertly recruit young people off of social media to commit crimes on their behalf.
Besides the Kanji of the Year Award, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation administers the Kanji Kentei, a multi-level test primarily geared at native speakers to test their kanji knowledge.
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Another awards ceremony, the Word of the Year Award, administered by U-CAN, identifies the trendiest new words and expressions in the media and online. This year’s selection was a controversial choice.
Runner-up kanji for this year included:
災 (sai; wazawa-i), or “disaster”, reflecting the Noto Peninsula earthquake – 9,772 votes (4.40%)
翔 (shou; kake-ru), one of the characters in Ohtani Shohei’s name that means “soar” or “fly” – 7,487 votes (3.37%)
震 (shin; furu-u), the second character in earthquake (地震; jishin) – 7,427 votes (3.35%)
新 (shin, atara-shii), new – 6,545 votes (2.95%)
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Sources
「金」今年の漢字2024年 どんな出来事あった?京都・清水寺で発表 歴代一覧もこちら. NHK Shutoken Navi
2021年の「今年の漢字®」. Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation