Rugby, disasters and social change generate buzzwords this year in Japan
The 2019 Rugby World Cup, natural disasters and cashless payment inspired a large portion of the nominations for the annual buzzword of the year awards. The words selected for the 2019 U-Can Shingo Ryukogo Taisho (2019 U-Can New Words and Buzzword Awards) reflect the nation’s ...
'Sodanē': Japan uses top buzzword of 2018 to end year on a high note
After months of scandals in sports, politics — and society as a whole — the top buzzword of 2018, announced Monday, struck a strikingly positive tone as the year winds down. "Sodanē," essentially a shortened form of sō da ne (that's right) that was popularized ...
What's that word, the one for when you like a person but are too shy to say so? Or how about the one you use when you visit Tokyo Disney? Well, one book has all the answers.
Japanese buzzwords of the year nominees reflect myriad influences and issues
Thirty candidates for buzzword of the year, announced Wednesday, highlight the numerous scandals that rocked Japan's amateur sports, the brutal summer of natural disasters as well as the country's response to the worldwide #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. The words nominated for the 2018 U-Can ...
Buzzword from Abe cronyism scandal spawns hit with bean paste bun
A bean-paste bun that takes its name from a buzzword associated with the cronyism allegations leveled at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2017 has become a hit for the design firm that came up with the product. About 100,000 boxes of Sontaku Manju (Sontaku Buns) ...
Japan's top 2017 buzzwords powered by politics and Instagram
Japan's most popular buzzwords of the year reflect the scandals that rocked the political arena and the trend of people eager to shoot photogenic items for social media. One of the winners — announced Friday — for the 2017 U-Can Shingo Ryukogo Taisho (2017 U-Can ...
Japan's buzzwords of 2017 cover everything from politics to poop
Thirty candidates for the buzzword of the year were announced Thursday, covering everything from popular poop kanji workbook to fake news to Hifumin, the nickname for a 77-year-old shogi pro who retired in June after wowing fans for decades with his aggressive playing styles ...
'Superhuman' slugger tops year's list of buzzwords
A superhuman effort on the baseball field inspired the top buzzword of the year, it was announced Thursday, in a contest that highlights social, political and entertainment trends. The winning entry was kamitteru, or superhuman behavior, honoring the clutch performance of Hiroshima Toyo Carp outfielder ...
Japan's top buzzword candidates for 2016 range from Pikotaro to 'the Trump phenomenon'
The 30 nominees for Japan's top buzzwords of 2016 were announced Thursday by the Jiyukokuminsha publishing house, covering a variety of new popular terms ranging from the "Shin Godzilla" film to the "Zika fever." Comedian Pikotaro was just in time to make the list with ...
'Bakugai,' 'toripuru suri' share top honors as year's most memorable buzzwords in Japan
This year's most memorable buzzwords in Japan were announced Tuesday, with the words bakugai (explosive shopping spree carried out by Chinese tourists) and toripuru suri ("Triple Three" achievements in baseball) jointly taking home the top honors. Eight other winners of the 2015 U-Can Shingo Ryukogo ...
Nominees announced for year's top buzzwords
The Jiyukokuminsha publishing house on Tuesday announced 50 nominees for this year's top buzzwords, covering everything from the "bakugai" (explosive shopping spree) carried out by Chinese tourists to "Goromaru pozu," referring to rugby star Ayumu Goromaru's characteristic clasping of his hands before making a ...
Buzzwords of 2014: from killer drugs to robotic refusals
Once again, the massive reference book 「現代用語の基礎知識」("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") is on sale. This annual publication that tracks additions to, and changes in, the Japanese language and various world developments over the previous year is a whopper — ...
