In Japanese politics, as elsewhere, certain words or phrases get permanently attached to politicians. When Shinzo Abe came into office in 2006, he declared his intention to create a “beautiful nation, Japan” which would respect culture, possess dignity, have the vitality to grow towards the future and be trusted by its neighbors, and while his success in this area can be debated, his era will forever be tied to this phrase. The current Japanese leader is Taro Aso, beloved of anime fans and 2-channelers (as users of the famous Japanese BBS “2ch” are called) for his affinity for reading manga, and he’s coming to be known by the phrase nantonaku (nahn-toh-NAH-koo), which means “somehow” or “for some reason” or “don’t ask me how, I just know.” Overuse of the phrase is the mark of an “about” person, that is, an imprecise speaker who doesn’t focus on specific questions or plans, and his tendency to use the phrase in official settings is getting him some criticism by the press. (Kind of reminds me of my father, counting how many times I said “y’know?” in a sentence back when I was a teenager.) Poor Aso-san is also being teased in the media for making mistakes when reading common kanji characters, although this sounds to me like a mild case of dyslexia, something I also suffer from. Here’s hoping this isn’t the start of the decline in his popularity, since he’s the most interesting Japanese PM in a long time.
