Oxford English Dictionary recently announced its word of the year “vaxx,” reflecting another tough pandemic year everyone is grinding through. But in Japan, it’s Sho-time.
Japan’s word of the year offered a brief reprieve from the ongoing — if not rising — coronavirus anxiety with a celebration of national sports pride.
Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight
After unanimously being named the American League’s Most Valuable Player, Japanese baseball player and Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani topped the annual Word of the Year competition in Japan on Wednesday.
“Sho-time” and “real two sword wielder,” a Japanese reference to Ohtani’s famed talents as a two-way player pulling double-duty as a pitcher and outfielder, were named the winners of the 38th annual competition hosted by the publishing house Jiyu Kokuminsha. Ohtani is widely celebrated in Japan, a country that loves baseball.
Japanese taxpayers were shut out from Olympic venues. Now they can view the staggering bill.
Often called the buzzword of the year, the winner of this competition sums up the trends that captivated the Japanese public in a given year.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
So perhaps it’s fitting that a top nominee for the contest was Baron Von Ripper-off, a nickname coined by Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins for Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee.
For much of this year, Japan was roiled by the public’s disdain toward the decision by the IOC and the Japanese government to host the postponed Tokyo Olympics despite widespread disapproval and concerns about the pandemic’s spread.
Other terms in the top 10 list of this year included “eating in silent,” and “gender equality” — The term made the list in part due to the uproar over sexist remarks by Yoshiro Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister who resigned as head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee after he said women talked too much at meetings.
Story continues below advertisement
As Japan racks up skateboarding medals, the long-stigmatized sport gains a foothold
Then there is “gon-zeme,” a skateboarding term used when someone is aggressive with their skateboard, popularized during this year’s Olympics after it was used by Ryo Sejiri, a 24-year-old skateboarding champion.
Advertisement
Sejiri grabbed headlines this summer for his unconventional style as he explained the tricks and flair of skateboarding as a TV commentator for Japanese broadcaster NHK, a usually staid news show.
Sprinkling in words like “grinding,” “ sooo sick,” and “that’s hot” duringappearances that went viral, he helped the public understand the sport, which made its Olympics debut in Tokyo.
Among the other top 10 terms was “ussee-wa,” a term that means to shut up — used in a viral, earworm of a song by a high school singer named Ado, which expressed anger toward social pressures. Another was “oya-gacha,” or the game of choosing your parents, describes how people face predetermined destinies they can’t control.
Story continues below advertisement
Each year, a jury of six panelists from the academic, arts, press and entertainment industries, as well as the Jiyu Kokuminsha’s encyclopedia publication director analyze 30 words, which they then narrow down to 10 to pick the winner.
Advertisement
Last year, the winning word was “sanmitsu,” which means “the 3C’s” (closed spaces, crowds and close contact), a pandemic-era term used by Japanese authorities remind the public about social distancing.
In world awash in angry politics, Japan is so quiet that young voters are courted just to talk
Bucking tradition, Japanese Princess Mako marries controversial fiance, loses royal status
Japan and South Korea never did full lockdowns. It left lessons on how to coexist with the virus.