Refers to a person who takes over a role, position, business, or tradition from a predecessor. Often used in formal, business, or historical contexts.
He was named as the successor to the company president.
Training successors for traditional performing arts is an urgent task.
後継者 is the common, specific word for a successor to a position or role, whereas 後者 in this sense is rare and mostly literary.
後継者 is a broader term for a successor or heir, often in family or leadership contexts, whereas 後任 specifically denotes an appointed replacement in a job or post.
後継者 is a formal, often abstract term used in business or political succession, while 跡継ぎ carries a more personal, familial nuance of inheriting a household or trade.
後継者 is the formal term for a successor to a position or organization, while 継ぎ is a simpler, more everyday word for an heir.
後継者 is the everyday, neutral word for a successor in any field, while 嗣 is a formal, often literary term tied to hereditary succession.
後継者 specifically means a successor who takes over from a predecessor, whereas 担い手 covers anyone currently sustaining or supporting an activity, not just successors.
先代 is the person who held a position before, while 後継者 is the successor who takes over after them.
succession struggle; succession race
Compound of 後 (after, later) + 継 (inherit, succeed) + 者 (person). The word follows a standard Sino-Japanese pattern for forming agent nouns.