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Could the planned abdication of Japan’s Emperor lead to a country wide computer crash? Each new Emperor’s reign has a new name, which is used in Japan’s calendar. Computer software is designed with this in mind, but as the new era’s name has not yet been announced, Japan’s software engineers cannot prepare for this. Dr Ansgar Koene from the University of Nottingham explains why a change in royal leadership might cause some confusion for IT users. (Image: Computer virus icon, Credit: Getty Images)