Photo/Illutration Lower House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda before a meeting in early September (Koichi Ueda)

The Izumo dialect, spoken in and around the city of Izumo in Shimane Prefecture, is considered one of the hardest local tongues in Japan for outsiders to understand.

One fairly well-known Izumo word is “dandan,” which corresponds to “arigatou” (thank you) in “standard” Japanese.

But what about “shetamondawa”? If a local says this word to you and you know it’s the same as “akiretamondane”--an expression of shock or disgust in the rest of the nation--you must be quite familiar with the Izumo dialect.

Years ago, Hiroyuki Hosoda, a Lower House legislator from Shimane Prefecture, was answering a question in the Diet when he blurted out, “I want to promote the Izumo dialect.” I imagine he really wanted to push his native tongue.

On Oct. 13, Hosoda announced his resignation as Lower House speaker and held a news conference later that day.

If I may use a newly-learned Izumo word here to describe how I felt about what he told the media, it’s “shetamon” (I am appalled).

Long known as the “point person” for the Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church (now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), Hosoda was said to have been a frequent presence at church events and even served as a spokesperson of sorts.

I eagerly awaited his comments at the new conference. But when he was asked how he felt about the church’s victims, all he said was, “I have absolutely nothing to do with this matter.”

How cold his words were. Or, in the Izumo dialect, how “chibite.”

As for “sexually harassing comments” he allegedly made to female reporters, he said, “If that really happened, I want them to tell me.” But the women have testified, and Hosoda pretends he has never heard them.

In the past, too, Hosoda made remarks that offended ordinary people. He once spoke with open disdain for the Japanese people, “That’s about the level they are at.” Obviously, he is totally tone deaf and feels zero empathy.

The government has ordered the church to disband. I wonder if there are politicians who want to say dandan to Hosoda for his silence, relieved there will be no more enquiries.

But the whole sordid mess must not be left unexplained.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 14

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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.