Photo/Illutration Governor Motohiko Saito responds to the findings of a report by Hyogo Prefecture’s third-party committee on March 26 in Kobe’s Chuo Ward. (Seiya Hara)

I tell my spouse that I may be a bit late coming home tonight.

My spouse: “You are not going out drinking—or are you?”

Uh-oh.

What would happen if I were to respond, “As of this present moment, no specific activity that involves drinking is being considered”?

I’d be undergoing the inquisition for certain.

In the world of politics, however, such flippant verbosity is par for the course.

In his book titled “Nippon Seikai-go Dokuhon” (Japanese political language textbook), Canadian writer Iain Arthy cites various examples of political circumlocution in Japanese—e.g., “Gokai wo maneita nara ikan desu” (It is regrettable if I have caused you a misunderstanding).

And he goes on to warn, tongue in cheek: “To correctly understand the language, special training is indispensable, even if you are Japanese.”

One classic example of politico-talk is “shinshi ni uketometai,” which translates as, “I intend to take (this matter) with the utmost sincerity.”

This was repeated about 30 times by Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito during his news conference on March 26.

He kept uttering the phrase upon rejecting the assessment of the prefecture’s third-party committee that he had broken the law in his handling of whistleblowers.

Saito effectively declared that he had no intention of abiding by the decision of the very committee he himself had formed. And yet, he reiterated that he was taking the situation with the utmost sincerity.

That’s quite a contortion act, both verbal and logical.

The third-party committee had reportedly complained about Saito’s refusal to “squarely face” an earlier report by the prefectural assembly.

I wonder how Saito felt when he read that.

A Japanese dictionary defines “shinshi” as “majime de hitamukina sama”—literally, “being serious and earnest.”

But for one second, I thought I was reading that as “tetsumenpi de uchimuki na sama”—literally, “being brazen-faced and inward-looking.”

Perhaps that was because my eyes had become strained from watching Saito’s news conference too closely online, or my eyes had simply gotten bleary from old age.

—The Asahi Shimbun, March 28

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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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