Japan: 2008 Neologisms and Trendy Words · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Presenting this year's 60 neologisms and trendy words [jp], among which only one will be elected representative for 2008, Kôgetsu describes briefly[jp] the events that influenced the choice and Japanese public opinion on the topic this year. His “best three” words are: subprime, tainted rise (事故米) and “Ponyo Ponyo, sakana no ko”. His “best three” news stories are: the resignation of PM Fukuda, the crisis following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and the election of Obama. Lastly, Kôgetsu stresses that one of the neologisms, saiban'inko (サイバンインコ) [“lay judge guy”], which he had never heard before, sounds unnatural to him, and he guesses that the Minister of Justice had a hand in its inclusion.