The 2025 New Word and Buzzword Awards, which determine the most popular words of the year, will be announced on December 1st. The annual grand prize and top ten will be selected from 30 nominated words, including "national treasure," "hoitara ne," and "bijuii jan." Here, we'd like to take a look back at the New Word and Buzzword Awards from 10 years ago, in 2015.
The awards began in 1984 and are announced every year in early December. Candidate words are selected by the company and the awards secretariat, primarily from the words included in "Basic Knowledge of Modern Terms" (Jiyuukokuminsha). From these, a selection committee selects the top ten and the annual grand prize winner.
The top ten in 2015 seemed to have a slightly stronger political tone. In 2014, there was only one political word: "collective self-defense." However, three more appeared: "We will not tolerate Abe's politics," "A society where all 100 million people are active," and "SEALDs."
In the entertainment and sports categories, the most popular phrases include the always cheerful Yasumura, "Don't worry, I'm wearing them," the "Goromaru pose" of Japan rugby player Goromaru Ayumu, and the title of Shuzo Matsuoka's daily calendar, "Everyday, Shuzo!". The word "emblem" was also included, reflecting the discontinuation of the use of the official Tokyo Olympics emblem.
The annual grand prize went to the "triple three," achieved by professional baseball players Yuki Yanagita of the Softbank Hawks and Tetsuto Yamada of the Yakult Swallows, the first time they have done so together in 65 years, and "explosive buying," which refers to the buying of large quantities of goods at once by foreign tourists and others.
Nominees for 2025 include the film "National Treasure," the line "Anpan " from the NHK morning drama "Anpan," the phrase "Biju Ii Jan" from the song "Ii Jan" by the dance vocal group M!LK, as well as solo comedian Hyoroku-san and "Nagasode wo Kudasai" (Please give me long sleeves), which originated from the popular segment "Meitantei Tsuda" on the TBS variety show "Wednesday Downtown."
Unfortunately, it seems like many of the buzzwords are a thing of the past, but the ever-cheerful Yasumura made his mark overseas with his catchphrase "I'm wearing it," while Yamada continued to enjoy great success, achieving triple crowns in 2016 and 2018. Incidentally, last year in 2024, the annual grand prize went to " Extremely Inappropriate! ," the nickname for the drama " Extremely Inappropriate! " (TBS). It will be interesting to see what will be chosen this year.
◇2015 Grand Prize and Top Ten Winners (titles omitted)
・Buzzword of the Year: Triple Three▽Buying spree
Top Ten: We will not tolerate Abe's politics (Sawachi Hisae) ▽Don't worry, I'm wearing them. (Another cheerful Yasumura) ▽A society where 100 million people are dynamically engaged (Abe Shinzo) ▽Emblem (Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) ▽Goromaru (pose) (Goromaru Ayumu) ▽SEALDs (Okuda Aki) ▽Triple Three (Yuki Yanagida, Tetsuto Yamada) ▽Drone (Nonami Kenzo) ▽Buying spree (Luo Yiwen) ▽Everyday, Shuzo! (Matsuoka Shuzo)
◇List of candidate words for 2025 (in alphabetical order)
Ehhhhh / old media / Otetsutabi / online casinos / corporate culture / papal election / emergency gun hunting and bear attacks / national treasures (watched) / ancient rice / July 5th / 80 years since the end of the war and 100 years since the Showa era / 19.2 seconds for a graduation certificate / Chappie / You are better than chocolate mint / Trump tariffs / Give me long sleeves / Two seasons / stuffed animal activity / I'll work, work, work, work, and work - a female prime minister / Beautiful / Hyoroku / High prices / Freelance Protection Act / Heisei girls / Hoitarane / Malatang / Myakumyaku / Medicinal food / Lovebu / Recovery wear
