This year is over. For people, it was a year; for others, it wasn't. Japanese have chosen the kanji (Chinese ) they thought described 2018. The kanji means "disaster". This was of the many natural disasters in Japan in 2018. Japan was hit by , earthquakes, heavy rains, and a heatwave. Hundreds of people died in these disasters. Many roads and were destroyed.
The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has found a "kanji of the " since 1995. This year, 193,214 people voted. The most popular was "peace". Last year, "north" was the , because of North Korea's nuclear . The world was also hit by natural disasters, wildfires, hurricanes and . There were in Syria and Yemen. There was because of immigration. People hope year's kanji will be "happiness".
