Kanji of the Year

2011's Kanji of the Year is (drum roll please).... 絆 (kizuna, bonds, here meaning "human bonds").

Every year the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation conducts a public poll to determine which kanji (or character in the Japanese language) best represents the essence of the year. Voting participation for 2011 was double that of the previous year, likely due to the devastating earthquake/tsunami/radioactive accident that pulled the Japanese people together, as disaster so often does.

To read an article by Mary Sisk Noguchi in the Japan Times Online about runners-up in the 2011 Kanji of the Year poll, click on the link.