When the 新語・流行語大賞 (Shingo, Ryūkōgo Taishō, New Words and Buzzwords Awards) were announced last week, the word on everyone’s lips was ... “omicron.”
Well, in Japan it was the オミクロン株 (omikuron kabu, omicron variant) that everyone was talking about, along with 渡航禁止 (tokō kinshi, travel bans), 入国禁止 (nyūkoku kinshi, entry bans) and even 富士山噴火 (Fuji-san funka, Mount Fuji eruption) thanks to a pair of earthquakes near the mountain on Friday that made people anxious.
As these situations have all yet to really pan out, perhaps some of them will be nominated as next year’s buzzwords — but I really hope not.