The Good, the Bad, and the Bimyou
Jan 17, 2022
4 minutes
By Sarah Hilton
Illustration by RYU MIENO
In Japan, you will regularly be given offers you can’t refuse. With a straight “no,” after all, you might invite confrontation or offense. Instead, say bimyou, a word as indistinct as a wisp of cloud, as nonbinding as a weather report.
During the October 2021 general election, much of the Japanese media restrained themselves from making risky predictions. The situation was bimyou, said one earnest news anchor. Bimyou, echoed headlines that announced pre-polling results. Here, the word was used to mean “unclear.” The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had been in power since the 1950s—apart from two brief
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