The government has enlisted the help of TV journalist Christel Takigawa to come up with a new catchphrase to replace the word "omotenashi" (hospitality) in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Takigawa, 38, made the word famous in Japan during her televised presentation with slow hand gestures during Tokyo's successful bid for the Olympics in Argentina in September 2013.
During a meeting this week with Olympic and Paralympic Games Minister Toshiaki Endo, Takigawa said: "The word 'omotenashi' can be found everywhere nowadays, but I think we need something new," Fuji TV reported. She and Endo agreed that Tokyo needs a slogan that will get everyone moving forward in the same direction.
Takigawa also suggested that it is necessary to create new radio gymnastic exercises or stretching activities so that young and old can get in the right frame of mind to participate and make the Olympic and Paralympic Games successful.
© Japan Today
34 Comments
Login to comment
WarwickNchuaa
Let's Joyful Olympic.
ThonTaddeo
Considering how the Games will be held in August rather than at a sensible time of the year, perhaps we could choose the phrase that will probably be heard on the streets hundreds of times each minute: Tokyo 2020: Atsui desu ne!
toshiko
Irasshakmase. But this will not qork. There is no insinuation of treat visitors kindly.
UsagitoSaru
I hope that catchphrase is less annoying than omotenashi and not over done and driven into the ground.
therougou
Well yeh, I guess when they threw out the air conditioning, the whole omotenashi thing went out the door.
HollisBrown
'Minna no Olympic' / 'Everybody's Olympics'- because then Sony can make a bucket load from selling the game and further boost the economy.
'Tokyo Olympic - Fight' (with 'guts pose') - because it mixes the English 'fight' with the Japanese fighting spirit symbolized by 'guts pose'.
'3, 2, 1 Hustle, Hustle' (adapted to 'Bronze, Silver, Gold, Hustle, Hustle') - because then Ogawa Naoya can perform it at the opening ceremony and really confuse... I mean amuse... the whole watching world.
'Tokyo 2020: ♥' (shinzo) - because not only would it represent 'kawaii', but what better way to honour our dear leader Shinzo Abe.
john_holthouse
How about "disgrace"? There are so many translations for that, but 汚点 (おてん, oten) meaning "blot" or "smear" seems about right. With the country in piles of debt, huge mountains of recovery work still to do after the 2011 tsunami, people displaced, the big business boys in & around govt decide to splash the cash on a big photo op. A few businessmen & politicians will benefit, the majority won't. Look at the history of these things. "Mottainai" was a good suggestion too.
smithinjapan
Why do they even need a buzzword to begin with? This is just going to end badly, guaranteed. They'll hire a panel of amakudari who are already lawmakers and who double at nuclear power plants and in pension funds, they'll not bother asking what they public thinks before they choose something sexist and/or racist that cost them millions of yen and months to think up, then they'll end up retracting it in embarassment later anyway.
Ometenashi is decent, save that a lot of people, if they expect foreigners who visit to pick it up, will stumble over and end up killing the pronunciation. More importantly, though, it's a concept that Japanese try to explain means 'hospitality', but that only possibly Japanese people can have, and it includes the idea that you must conform to certain expectations, thereby not really being hospitality.
savethegaijin
I can't do this anymore, Japan. I just can't. Please. I don't have it in me. Just keep omotenashi. There's more than 4 years to go until 2020 and I just can't take another buzzword.
Stewart Ross
How about, "めんどくさい"?
hampton
How about, "My Olympic"? That should do it.
nandakandamanda
Fukuppics Kawai!
Citizen2012
Why would everyone want to move in the same direction when those 2020 Olympic is just to serve the financial interest of the few ?
gokai_wo_maneku
I have one for the Olympic organizing committee "Get your fricken act together!" And how many millions of yen will they use to select the new slogan?
DongHungLo
How about this catchphrase. . ."It's all under control!" Hahaha
Alistair Carnell
I'm not pretending anything Toshiko, how presumptuous of you.
Gobshite
Well so far their efforts to organise the Olympics can only deserve one catchphrase..... zannen
Christopher Glen
Mottainai!
Scrote
They could use "熱中症のオリンピック" since the event will take place in high summer.
toshiko
@katbide: With lining up of Japan Inc to spend huge ad minet, Olympic is KANE MOUKE
kaynide
@Toshiko:
At least his Japanese makes sense. No idea what you want to say there. Please stay on task here... you're trolling hard and derailing the thread.
Anyway, for a slogan, why not something along the lines of Rebirth? I agree that the Olympics are a huge waste, but if they're going to spin all this planning and re-planning...and then spin it to say it somehow supports Tohoku, why not?
clueless
Whatever it is…please keep it Japanese. Tired of seeing and hearing English being butchered here with cheesy childish phrases.
nath
Omotenashi theoretically should be a good catchphrase, the only problem of course being that there will be many foreigners who will come here and find some not very omotenashi things. Particularly those with tattoos.
toshiko
Allstair you are writing ro you, you pretend you know Japanese.€€
David Varnes
How about "Let's Olympics!"
Let's works for everything else around here as a slogan.
toshiko
Alistair Carnell
Toshiko... For you
学者ぶる人
There, never to old to learn heh ?
Blattamexiguus
How about "Japanese only". It's already popular and would also help boost medal tally. Two birds with one stone.
Matthew Harding
Toshiki-San, would you prefer he said もったいない? :-)
Interestingly there are several different ways to write that in Kanji.
I couldn't agree more that it is in its current state wasteful. But I see the Olympics as a big chance to make something happen in Japan. Shaking up the old and ushering in a new era. Combined with the business chances TPP will open up, the timing could give the Japanese economy a great stimulus. Is: 新世界への初一歩 too long?
toshiko
@lationzNOV. 14, 2015 - 07:44AM JST 'Motainai' is not a Japanese language. You know exactly what he means. Don't be pedant
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
No I don't know. But maybe he meant The Team Mota Disappeared from Olympic?
lationz
Oh god
lationz
You know exactly what he means. Don't be pedantic.
toshiko
@Alistair CarnellNOV. 14, 2015 - 07:08AM JST How about 'Motainai' ?
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
'Motainai' is not a Japanese language.
Alistair Carnell
How about 'Motainai' ?