‘Bear’ Takes Top Spot as Japan’s Kanji of the Year, Reflecting Year of Bear Sightings, Attacks (Update1)

The Japan News

14:58 JST, December 12, 2025 (updated at 17:30 JST, Dec. 12)

The kanji for bear was announced as kanji of the year for 2025 on Friday.

Every December, a kanji character that mirrors the social climate of the year is chosen through public voting and announced at Kiyomizudera temple, a World Heritage site in Kyoto.

This is the first time that the kanji for bear, “pronounced “kuma,” has been selected.

The main reason this character was chosen as the top is that bear sightings and human injuries are at an all-time high. There were also voices saying that the reason for choosing this kanji was the return of four giant pandas from a theme park in Wakayama Prefecture to China.

Coming in a close second was the kanji for rice pronounced “kome.” In addition to the continuing rise in rice prices since the previous year, the kanji for rice in Japanese refers to America, so this also includes the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the domestic turmoil caused by his high tariff policy.

In third place is the kanji character for “high,” chosen not only because of the soaring stock prices and commodity prices, but also because the character pronounced “taka” is in the name of Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, who took office this year.