TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Japanese character “zei” or “mitsugi” (税), meaning tax, was chosen as the Kanji of the Year 2023 in Japan on Tuesday (Dec. 12), due to public concern about rising prices and tax reforms.

The winning kanji character and 19 runners-up were unveiled at Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation. The word received 5,976 votes, only 405 more than the next one on the list, “sho” (暑) or “heat,” a reference to record high temperatures during the past summer, the Japan Times reported.

The organization started with the vote in 1995. “Tax” already won in 2014, as the government at the time hiked the consumption tax from 5% to 8%. Last year, the character “ikusa” (戦) or war won following the start of the Russo-Ukraine war.

In Taiwan, the Chinese character meaning “que” (缺), meaning shortage, won the accolade for the 2023 character of the year last week. A total of 58 different characters had been nominated for the honor of character of the year, and “shortage” received 8,565 votes.