Some like it ‘sho’, but ‘zei’ is deemed Japan’s word of the year: ‘Tax’ trumps ‘hot’ in annual vote… as nation tries to cut taxpayer burdens amid record spending

• Japan voted for the word for ‘tax’ as this year’s word of the year
• Japan’s government has cut taxes in a bid to reduce pressure on families
• Second-highest was the word for ‘hot’, amid rising temperatures in the country 

Japan has voted the word for ‘tax’ as its word of the year, as the government is trying to cut down on citizens’ financial burdens despite spending a record amount of money. 

The character for the word tax, ‘zei’, was masterfully inscribed on a 21 sq ft piece of paper by a skilled calligrapher at the annual ceremony held by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation on Tuesday.

The artisan, Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu-dera, the Kyoto temple where the ceremony was held, said: ‘The selection of tax reminded me of financial challenges facing Japan. How taxes are spent is under intense public scrutiny. I hope taxes are used to serve people’s wellbeing.’

Japan’s government, led by 66-year-old prime minister Fumio Kishida, revealed tax cuts that aim to stimulate consumption and relieve pressure on families facing rising inflation rates and food prices.

But it has also promised to double defence spending over the next five years to roughly 10 trillion yen (£55 billion).

The character for the word tax, ‘zei’, was masterfully inscribed on a 21 sq ft piece of paper by a skilled calligrapher (pictured)

In 2018, Seihan Mori wrote the word for ‘disaster’ on the 21 sq ft piece of paper

It is the second time that taxation was chosen as word of the year. The first time was in 2014, when sales tax rose from 5% to 8%.  

While roughly 148,000 votes were cast in the annual poll, zei won with less than 6,000 votes. 

The runner-up word was sho, meaning hot, and lost by less than 400 votes. 

Japan has experienced record temperatures this year, which has affected the country’s ecosystem that bears have refused to hibernate in the winter due to the unseasonably warm climate. 

Sen, meaning war, took third place, amid wars between and Hamas, Ukraine and Russia and rising tensions between China and the rest of Asia.   

Sen took first place last year, after Russia invaded Ukraine and the nation’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a man using an improvised weapon. 

Lower down the list were the Japanese words for ‘tiger’, ‘victory’ and ‘ball’, all referring to the Hanshin Tigers of Osaka, which won its first baseball league in 38 years this year. 

Also in the top ten words was zo/masu, meaning ‘increase’, referring to rising inflation and food price rates that have plagued the country this year. 

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