"Dame yo, dame dame," meaning roughly "No you mustn't, no no," the signature phrase of the female Japanese comic duo Nippon Elekitel Rengo, has been selected as one of the nation's top two buzzwords this year, the award's organizer said Monday.
"Shudanteki jieiken" (the right to collective self-defense) also topped the list, highlighting the controversial decision by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet in July to change the government's interpretation of the pacifist Constitution to enable Japan to engage in collective self-defense, or coming to the aid of an ally under attack. The organizer did not clarify who was to be awarded for that phrase.
Also among the top 10 were "Arinomamade," the Japanese title for "Let it Go," a song from Disney's 2013 megahit "Frozen," and "Yo-Kai Watch," the name of a game and anime popular with children.
Among the more serious phrases in the top 10 list were "kiken doraggu" (dangerous drugs), referring to technically legal but potentially harmful recreational drugs, and "matahara," the abbreviation for "maternity harassment," in which women receive unfair treatment in the workplace due to pregnancy or motherhood.
The full list of words can be found on the publisher's website.