The upper-class citizen (上級国民, jо̄kyū kokumin) is a Japanese buzzword used mainly on the Internet to refer to privileged people who are apart from commoners.[1][2] In 2015 and 2019, the term was nominated for the New Words and Buzzwords of the Year Awards, sponsored by the publisher Jiyukokuminsha.[3][4]

Meaning

There is no clear definition of the term; it can simply refer to the wealthy and upper class in some cases, or it can also refer to politicians, professionals, and bureaucrats who say and do things that are beyond the comprehension of the general public.[2][5][6] Additionally, it can refer to the group of people that use political, financial, or other forms of power to escape their criminal activities and social responsibilities.[2]

History

The term upper-class citizen spread rapidly since allegations in 2015 that the emblems of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics infringed on copyrights.[2][6] It was subsequently used online and elsewhere in the report of the February 2018 accident in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and the fatal April 2019 Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car crash.[2][7]

Development of Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic emblems

Emblem designed by Kenjiro Sano
Emblem designed by Kenjiro Sano

In 2015, allegations of copyright infringement were raised in the development of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games emblems.[6][8] The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) held a press conference, and the media and Internet users reported it using upper-class citizen.[9][10] TOCOG originally selected Kenjiro Sano’s design, but due to a series of turmoil that occurred from the summer to the fall of 2015, it withdrew Sano’s design on September 1, 2015.

At the press conference announcing this decision change, Toshiro Muto, Secretary-General of the Olympic Organizing Committee, stated that the uniqueness of the design “can be understood by experts, but, unfortunately, not by the ordinary people” — citing the comment of Kazumasa Nagai, Chairman of the Selection Committee. During his comment, Muto used the term ordinary people multiple times, and the opposite term upper-class citizen was chosen to ridicule this sense of elitism in the designer world.[8] Muto's statement provoked a backlash as being condescending.

According to Ameba News, these sentiments were widely spread, supported by the fact that upper-class citizen was one of the top HOT words on Twitter.[10] It was also used in the print media by Nikkan Gendai on September 5 as a comment by freelance writer Toshiyuki Inoue: “The emblem uproar is not going down, but rather it is shifting to a conflict between the powerful people called upper-class citizens and the ordinary lower-class citizens.”[11] Nikkan Gendai also used upper-class citizen in its September 5 issue as a cover term to include Nagai and other designers who were involved in the emblem selection process.[9] These incidents led to the 2015 nomination of upper-class citizen for the New Words and Buzzwords of the Year Awards.[3]

Higashi-Ikebukuro fatal runaway car crash

On April 19, 2019, a car went out of control in Higashi-Ikebukuro, Tokyo, killing a 31-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter who were using a pedestrian crossing and injuring ten people, including the driver and his wife. The driver was Kozo Iizuka (87 years old at the time), a retired technical officer of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and a former vice-president of Kubota Corporation.[12] However, Iizuka was not arrested and was sent to a hospital instead. The term upper-class citizen was used on the Internet concerning this perpetrator's social status and received preferential treatment.[13]

By contrast, two days later, a male driver was caught red-handed for driving a city bus that plowed into a line of pedestrians in Chuo Ward, Kobe City, killing two people and injuring four.[14][15] On May 8 of the same year, a female driver was arrested at the scene of an accident in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, where two nursery school children were killed.[16]

Furthermore, Iizuka was reported in the press as a “former government official” or “former director” and not as a “suspect.”[17] Because he was a high-ranking bureaucrat in the former Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and also served as a chairman of an industry association and a director of a major machinery manufacturer even after leaving MITI, the perceived special treatment of him drew sharp criticism.[15] As a result, the word upper-class citizen was nominated for the 2019 New Words and Buzzwords Award.[1][4] In connection to this, the book Upper-Class Citizen/Lower-Class Citizen by Akira Tachibana (published by Shogakukan), released in August of the same year, reached a circulation of 130,000 copies.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "上級国民論" [Discussion on Upper-Class Citizens]. Newsweek Japan Edition. CCC Media House: 18–23. 2020-02-18.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 現代用語の基礎知識 2016 [Basic Knowledge of Modern Terminology 2016]. Tokyo: Jiyukokuminsha. 2015. ISBN 4426101344.
  3. 1 2 "「上級国民」「ラブライバー」「刀剣女子」 新語・流行語大賞候補に" [“Upper-Class Citizen,” “Love Liver,” and “Sword Girl” nominated for New Words and Buzzwords of the Year Award]. IT media News. 2015-11-10. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "「令和」「上級国民」「タピる」「にわかファン」 流行語大賞、候補の３０語発表" [“Reiwa,” “Upper-Class Citizen,” “Bobaing,” “Bandwagon Fan”: The 30 words nominated for the Buzzwords of the Year Award were announced.]. Sankei News. 2019-11-06. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  5. ↑ Tachibana, Akira (2019). 上級国民／下級国民 [Upper-Class Citizens/Lower-Class Citizens]. Tokyo: Shogakukan. ISBN 4098253542.
  6. 1 2 3 "上級国民" [Upper-class citizen]. Chiezo Mini. Asahi Shimbun Publishing. 2015-11-12. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ "「上級国民」というネットスラングの大拡散が示す日本人の心中" [The major spread of the net slang "Upper-Class Citizen" shows the Japanese mind]. NEWS Post Seven. 2019-05-05. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  8. 1 2 "デザイン界は「上級国民」!? エンブレム撤回会見での「一般国民は理解しない」発言が一部で反発を呼ぶ" [The design world is the "upper-class citizens"!? Some remarks at the press conference on the withdrawal of the emblem that the general public does not understand sparked a backlash]. Gadget Communications. 2015-09-02. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  9. 1 2 . 日刊ゲンダイDigital (2015年9月10日). 2022年10月25日閲覧。 (2015-09-10). "五輪ロゴ騒動 シンポジウムで"上級国民"ダンマリの異常事態" [The Olympics logo uproar: An unusual situation of "Upper-Class Citizens'" silence at the Symposium]. Nikkan Gendai Digital. Retrieved October 25, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. 1 2 "「一般国民」と「上級国民」を流行語大賞候補に推す声" [“General Public” and “Upper-Class Citizens” nominated for the Buzzwords of the Year Award]. Ameba News. 2015-09-03. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  11. ↑ "五輪ロゴ騒動終わらず ネット住民の怒り買った次の標的" [The Olympics logo uproar is not over: The next target of the netizen’s anger]. Nikkan Gendai Digital. 2015-09-05. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  12. ↑ "池袋の母子死亡事故、10月初公判　車暴走の元院長" [Accident at Ikebukuro that lead to the death of a mother and child; the first trial in October. Former director’s reckless driving]. Nihon Keizai Shimbun. 2020-09-16. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  13. ↑ "容疑者でなく元院長、加害者の呼び方決めた理由" [The reason to call Iizuka a former director instead of suspect]. Yomiuri Shimbun Online. 2019-05-10. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  14. ↑ "運転手「ブレーキ中に急発進」2人死亡の神戸バス事故" [Driver says “sped off while braking” in Kobe bus accident that killed two]. Asahi Shimbun Digital. 2019-04-21. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "池袋暴走「逮捕されない」本当の理由とは 弁護士が指摘する「あえてしない」可能性" [Ikebukuro runaway suspected not arrested. Lawyer points out possible reason that it was done purposefully]. J-CAST News. 2019-04-22. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ "容疑者「前をよく見ていなかった」大津の園児死亡事故" [Suspect didn’t look carefully ahead in fatal accident of preschooler in Otsu]. Asahi Shimbun Digital. 2019-05-08. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  17. ↑ "上級国民 ..." [Upper-class citizen ...]. Nishinippon Shimbun. 2019-05-03. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.