| TOP TEN WORDS OF 2009 |
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1. Regime change
[seiken kōtai]: The landslide election victory of the Democratic Party of
Japan brought an abrupt end to 54 years of Liberal Democratic Party
rule. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has promised a host of political
and economic reforms and may open a new era in foreign and security
policy. 2. Child store manager [kodomo tenchō]: In addition to playing the boy samurai in Tenchijin, child actor Seishiro Kato starred as a young store manager in a series of commercials for Toyota 3. Sorting out operations [jigyō shiwake]: To eliminate wasteful government spending and trim the budget before next April, the new government is employing an innovative method of reassessment called jigyō shiwake (sorting out operations). Developed by Japan Initiative, a private-sector think tank, the jigyō shiwake method has been used for seven years to streamline budgets and boost efficiency at the local government level. These budget-cutting panels involve teams of government employees and outside evaluators — called shiwake-nin — who work together to prioritize government projects and services one by one. The teams assess the necessity of each service, decide whether to keep it or outsource it, and determine whether to change the scale of the service and the way it is provided. 4. New flu [shingata infuruenza]: About 6 million people in Japan have been infected with the new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 since early July. 5. Herbivorous/carnivorous [sōshoku-kei/nikushoku-kei]: The herbivorous man is passive, and the carnivorous woman is aggressive. The words herbivorous and carnivorous have come to denote the level of passiveness or aggressiveness, particularly with respect to sex and romance. 6. De-bureaucratization [datsu kanryō]: The new government has promised to break up the entrenched relationships between bureaucrats, big business and the LDP by decentralizing the bureaucracy and filling high-ranking civil-service posts with political appointments. 7. Temporary worker cutbacks [haken-giri]: When struggling companies are forced to make cuts, temp workers are among the first to lose their jobs. 8. Fast fashion [fasto fashon]: The weak economy appears to have impacted Japanese fashion world by pushing consumers toward the cheaper end of the market. A fast fashion boom has erupted in the trend-setting Harajuku area of Tokyo, where a crowd of cheap chic European and US retailers such as H&M, Forever 21, Topshop, Zara, and Gap are now competing in close proximity to one another. 9. Complaints [boyaki]: Katsuya Nomura, 74-year-old manager of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles professional baseball team, attracted attention this year for his habit of voicing colorful complaints during post-game interviews. Nomura was replaced as manager by American baseballer Marty Brown after the season ended. 10. History girls [reki-jo]: Japanese history, particularly that of the Warring States period (mid-15th to early 17th century), has become a hot topic among many young women in Japan. Called reki-jo (history girls), these new fangled history buffs are reportedly flocking to important historical landmarks and buying up history books, magazines, and samurai-themed knickknacks. |
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