This photo provided by Jiji Press shows Seihan Mori, master of the ancient Kiyomizu temple, using a calligraphy brush to write the Chinese character, known in Japan as "kanji", for 'mitsu', which was selected as the character to symbolize the year of 2020. At the Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, western Japan, on Dec 14, 2020. (STR / JAPAN POOL / AFP)

TOKYO - Japan on Monday selected a kanji character used to encourage social distancing as its defining symbol for 2020, highlighting a catchphrase used extensively during the coronavirus pandemic that even inspired its own computer game.

Translated as “Three Cs” in English, the character refers to avoiding closed spaces, crowds and close contacts

The character “mitsu”, meaning “congested” or “dense”, was derived from a buzzword “San-mitsu”, which was central to Japan’s approach to the containing the pandemic. Translated as “Three Cs” in English, it refers to avoiding closed spaces, crowds and close contacts.

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Japanese TV networks broadcast the annual announcement live, with the master of the ancient Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto writing the character on a huge white panel with an ink-soaked calligraphy brush.

“It is important to get “mitsu” between heart and heart,” an announcer at the event said, citing a message from one voter who picked the symbol for the year when people keep physical distances from each other.

The “three Cs” term was first introduced by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, to urge the residents to stay indoors during the first wave of coronavirus infections earlier this year.

The catchphrase even inspired a computer game of Koike navigating through crowds while uttering her daily “mitsu desu” call for social distancing.

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Since 1995, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, the event organizer, has conducted nationwide polls to pick a Chinese character, known as kanji, that sums up the social trends and events of each year.

Last year, the character “rei” used in the new era name of Reiwa translated as beautiful harmony was picked.