Photo/Illutration The Hitachi city hall is flooded due to torrential rain in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sept. 9. (Tatsuya Shimada)

“Soteigai” (unexpected) is a very useful expression that has become quite threadbare from overuse.

In itself, I think it is a compelling word that conveys the speaker’s genuine surprise. But because of the circumstances in which it is frequently used nowadays, it has come to sound a lot more like a trite cop-out word, which I find offensive.

Last week, Typhoon No. 13 flooded and caused a blackout at Hitachi city hall in Ibaraki Prefecture. As this was a new building designed to be disaster-proof, the mayor said at a news conference, “What happened was unexpected.”

The moment I heard his words, I had to mutter in annoyance, “Good grief, here we go again.” Not that I didn’t feel bad about the damage done to his city, of course.

When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in 2011, “unexpected” was certainly an apt qualifier for the sheer magnitude of the disaster that remains etched in my memory.

And after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co. liberally used that word while standing trial for their alleged culpability. I cannot help believing this had the effect of imbuing the word with the power of self-justification and absolution from guilt.

Ever since then, we have heard that magic word invoked on so many varied occasions.

Perhaps that can’t be entirely helped where natural phenomena are concerned, as extreme weather episodes have become all too frequent of late.

But in politics and government, the power of imagination aided by experts’ predictions is essential.

This has nothing to do with a natural disaster, but a farm minister’s comment last month stunned me.

Referring to China’s blanket ban on Japanese seafood in reaction to the release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the minister stated, “That was totally unexpected.”

I am sure that made many people want to tell him how utterly unexpected his comment was.

The Asahi Shimbun once ran a critical opinion sent in by a reader who said politicians who evade responsibility by claiming the unexpectedness of a difficult situation are effectively admitting their own political incompetence.

Individuals who are entrusted with protecting the safety and lives of people should never casually say something was “unexpected.”

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 12

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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