"Dogenka sento ikan" ("I have to do something") by Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru and "Hanikami Oji" ("Bashful Prince"), the nickname of amateur golfer Ryo Ishikawa, have been chosen as the hottest buzzwords reflecting Japanese society in 2007.
The selecting body — the publisher of the encyclopedia Gendai Yogono Kiso Chishiki and U-Can Inc., a provider of correspondence courses — said Monday the remarks of the entertainer-turned-governor, who replaced a scandal-tainted predecessor, clearly showed his appeal in the local dialect and touched the right chord with people nationwide.
Meanwhile, Ishikawa, a high school student, evoked a great sense of nostalgia among Japanese for a modest young man with a terrific smile and manners, which are now a dying breed, the selectors said.
Buzzwords that finished in the top 10 included "kieta nenkin" ("vanished pension"), a phrase mumbled by Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe to describe the mismanagement of pension payment records by the Social Insurance Agency, "Donkanryoku" ("Ability of Insensitivity"), the title of a book by popular novelist Junichi Watanabe, "shokuhin giso" ("mislabeling of foods"), "netcafe nammin" ("Net cafe refugees") and "Dondake?" ("What the hell?") coined by transvestite makeup artist Ikko.
