Almost two months after the 能登半島地震 (Nōto hantō jishin, Noto Peninsula Earthquake), tourist destinations in the broader region continue to struggle financially.

Although damage to tourist spots like 金沢 (Kanazawa, Kanazawa) was limited due to the city’s distance from the quake’s 震源 (shingen, epicenter), hotels in the broader 北陸 (Hokuriku, Hokuriku) region are facing cancellations anyway.

One reason tourists may be staying away is either casual 噂 (uwasa, rumors) or a more serious 風評 (fūhyō, rumors). While 噂 can be used among friends and colleagues to mean 噂話 (uwasa-banashi, gossip), 風評 suggests more widespread reputational damage resulting from misinformation, also referred to as 風評被害 (fūhyō higai). This includes 根拠のない噂などで本来は無関係であるはずの人や団体が受ける損害 (konkyo no nai uwasa nado de honrai wa mu-kankei de aru hazu no hito ya dantai ga ukeru songai, damage inflicted on individuals or organizations originally unrelated that is driven by groundless rumors).

風評被害 can pose huge obstacles to the full 復旧 (fukkyū, recovery) and 復興 (fukkō, reconstruction) of an area even after インフラの復旧 (infura no fukkyū, the restoration of infrastructure). While 復旧 connotes the restoration of tangible things such as インフラ (infura, infrastructure) to their original states, 復興 encompasses the act of revitalizing industries and returning people’s lives to the state they were in before damage took place, which requires a longer time frame than 復旧.

An old Japanese saying optimistically goes, 人の噂も七十五日 (hito no uwasa mo shichijū-go nichi, gossip fades after 75 days), but that isn’t really the case these days. The time frame, 75 days, used to represent one season in the old Japanese calendar, but インターネットで広まった噂 (intānetto de hiromatta uwasa, rumors spread via the internet) tend to have longer staying power.

Before social media, it was 風 (kaze, wind) that metaphorically spread gossip: 風の便り (kaze no tayori) literally translates as “a letter/news of the wind,” implying rumors coming from nowhere specific. These days, the term is often mistakenly replaced by 風の噂 (kaze no uwasa, rumor of the wind), so you may have heard a phrase like 風の噂に聞いたんだけど (kaze no uwasa ni kiita-n-da kedo, I heard a rumor somewhere) before.

Conversation and gossip are often described in plant metaphors in Japanese, which is where we get the saying 根も葉もない噂 (ne mo ha mo nai uwasa, a rumor without roots or leaves). In this case, 噂 is compared to a 花 (hana, flower), and since 根 (ne, roots) and 葉 (ha, leaves) usually sprout before any 花, we can translate this sentiment as “groundless” or “baseless” rumor.

Another piece of plant-based terminology, 昔話に花が咲く (mukashi-banashi ni hana ga saku) can be used to describe the kind of reminiscing (昔話) that can take place with old friends. When 花が咲く (hana ga saku, flowers bloom) in a conversation, it just means the discussion is lively. Another kind of chit-chat that can bloom is 世間話 (seken-banashi), which is the kind of harmless small talk and gossip you have with colleagues or neighbors: 世間話に花を咲かせる (seken-banashi ni hana o sakaseru, causing small talk to “bloom into a flower”).

With all these flowers blooming, the question remains: How should you react in Japanese?

If you hear a piece of positive news about a friend or colleague, a simple 本当だといいね (hontō da to ii ne, I hope that’s true) is a good response. Maybe, you’re a little skeptical of the news? Then, try answering with 本人の口から聞くまで待つよ (honnin no kuchi kara kiku made matsu yo, I’ll wait until I hear it from the person’s mouth).

If someone is spreading negative gossip and you want to put a stop to it in a friendly manner, phrases like 噂はあてにならないから (uwasa wa ate ni naranai kara, rumors are not reliable) and 本人に直接聞いてみたら？ (honnin ni chokusetsu kiite mitara, why don’t you ask the person directly?) may work. If the scenario takes place at your workplace, you can use even stronger statements such as 噂話は苦手です (uwasa-banashi wa nigate desu, I don’t like to gossip) or 聞かなかったことにします (kikanakatta koto ni shimasu, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear [that]).

Speaking of 噂, another popular Japanese idiom is 噂をすれば影がさす (uwasa o sureba kage ga sasu), which literally means “do a rumor and a shadow is cast” but is similar in meaning to the English idiom “speak of the devil and he will appear.” The idiom is often shortened to 噂をすれば影.

Inaccurate information should be corrected as soon as possible, which brings us back to the quake-stricken region of 北陸. Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi was reported as saying, 「とにかく正しい事実関係を情報発信していくしか対応はない」 (Tonikaku tadashii jijitsu-kankei o jōhō hasshin shite-iku shika taiō wa nai, In any case, the only viable approach is to keep disseminating correct and factual information) and following up by telling the media that most hotels and 旅館 (ryokan, traditional Japanese inns) are operating as usual.

To support local businesses, the Japanese government is set to implement a travel subsidy program called the 北陸応援割 (Hokuriku ōen wari, Hokuriku support discount) during March and April. It will provide a 50% discount on hotels, with the amount capped at ¥20,000 per person per night.

噂は遠くから (Uwasa wa tōku kara, Rumors from afar) is a saying that implies that rumors tend to come from people outside of the situation and not those who are involved in it directly. Those are words to live by when it comes to disaster recovery.

A kanji that brings renewal

The kanji 復, which is read as “fuku” or “mata,” means to restore, return to, revert and resume. In addition to 復旧 (fukkyū) and 復興 (fukkō), which are covered in today’s feature, you can see it in plenty of other words that signify a return to a previous state.

  • 回復 (kaifuku): recovery often related to a person’s health or economy-related things like the stock market. Ex.: 体調が回復して食欲が戻ってきた (Taichō ga kaifuku shite shokuyoku ga modotte-kita, I’ve finally recovered and I'm getting my appetite back)
  • 修復 (shūfuku): the repair of physical objects and sometimes personal relationships. 長い年月をかけて修復された名画が公開された (Nagai nengetsu o kakete shūfuku sareta meiga ga kōkai sareta, The masterpiece that took many years to be repaired has been unveiled)
  • 復帰 (fukki): return and reinstatement of a position at work. Ex.: 怪我から復帰したばかりとは思えない試合だ (Kega kara fukki shita bakari towa omoenai shiai da, It's hard to believe that the game is right after returning from an injury)
  • 復活 (fukkatsu): revival and return of products and also people (キリストの復活 [kirisuto no fukkatsu, Christ’s return]). Ex.: 廃番になった商品の復活を多くの顧客が待ち望んだ (Haiban ni natta shōhin no fukkatsu o ōku no kokyaku ga machinozonda, The return of the discontinued product was eagerly anticipated by many customers.)
  • 復元 (fukugen): reconstruction and restoration of data or antique landmarks. Ex.: 消えたデータを復元するのに一晩かかった (Kieta dēta o fukugen suru noni hitoban kakatta, It took an entire night to restore the disappeared data)