We take a closer look at some of the entries selected by Gen Z and Gen Alpha Japanese schoolgirls and suddenly feel very old.

Schoolgirls move the world–or at the very least, our language. Every year since 2017, Japanese marketing company AMF has released JC & JK Buzzword Awards to follow how young women are using and shaping the Japanese language. While there are other yearly buzzword-type rankings in Japan, AMF is uniquely a firm that markets to Generation Z (those born in the mid-to-late 1990s through early 2010s) members of society and researches their consumption of various media.

The 50 nominations for this year’s Buzzword Awards were selected by an AMF research team of about 100 JC (short for joshichuu, “female junior high school student”) and JK (short for joshiko, “female high school student”) who fit into either Gen Z or the next youngest Gen Alpha (those born in the early 2010s through mid-2020s). The terms reflect all kinds of things from Internet slang to some of the hottest celebrities in Japanese youth culture at the moment. We’ve selected ten of the nominations from the full list below to take a slightly deeper dive into their meanings.

▼ JC & JK Buzzword Awards 2024: the 50 nominations

One of the biggest linguistic trends currently among Japanese youth is to attach kaiwai (界隈 / meaning “neighborhood,” “vicinity,” or the “people involved in particular field”) to various things and then tag them #XX-kaiwai (#XX界隈) on social media. An extension of the meaning can be found in such expressions as “TikTok-kaiwai” or “Instagram-kaiwai,” which are typical terms for people who engage in these social media platforms. Therefore, perhaps “a member of a particular community” is the most natural way to express the meaning in English. Someone might use an #XX-kaiwai tag to indicate that they’re currently experiencing something related to that particular community or that they’re someone who enjoys doing those types of things. Four such expressions following this pattern made the list of buzzword nominations this year, showcasing both the versatility and popularity of this trend.

ジブリ界隈 / jiburi kaiwai / “Ghibli community”

“Ghibli” of course refers to Japan’s beloved Studio Ghibli animation studio, whose wholesome, enchanting works typically explore human relationships with a dose of nostalgia, a focus on small details, and an appreciation for the natural world. Consequently, perhaps it’s no surprise that this particular expression is one of the more popular variations of the #XX-kaiwai trend since Studio Ghibli films, characters, and plot points are easily recognizable in many Japanese households.

▼ I, for one, would welcome a more Ghibli-esque existence in general.

自然界隈 / shizen kaiwai / “nature community”

Did you go hiking in the mountains on your day off? Are you someone who prefers the gurgling sounds of a forest stream to the noises of a city? The popularity of all things shizen, or “nature,” seems to be on the rise with the younger generations who are realizing the value of stepping away from our digitally connected lives for even a short time to reconnect with the natural world. The next time you share that photo of yourself out in the wilderness, try tagging it with #自然界隈 to get in on the trend.

▼ Sometimes the best escape is the one when you climb over 1,000 steps to the top of a mountain shrine in the Shikoku countryside (Konpirasan in Kagawa Prefecture).

当たり前界隈 / atarimae kaiwai / “obvious things community”

This one is for people who find themselves either explaining the obvious or experiencing a temporary lapse in common knowledge. Can’t see anything because your eyes are covered? #当たり前界隈. Trying to drink a beverage while wearing a mask but can’t? #当たり前界隈. There are mixed reactions online as to whether this tag is really all that interesting or not because of the element of playing dumb, but we appreciate some of the clever uses out there–like the person who posted that they ordered large-sized (“L”) fries at McDonald’s but were confused to receive a carton with a big “M” on it (not “medium-sized,” like the person is thinking, but the “M” is for McDonald’s).

▼ If it were up to me, I would think that a shop specializing in natto and its toppings would be too obviously delicious, but I fear my family would beg to differ.

ママ界隈 / mama kaiwai / “mama community”

This last variation seems to have a very specific visual element attached to it when used within memes and TikToks that show off mothers saving the day. It’s usually accompanied by a looped video of a rock/Cape hyrax (a kind of mammal native to Africa and the Middle East) that appears as if it’s screaming “mama!” For instance, if you search for examples of this tag in Japanese, you might find one with the caption “I got to school and realized I forgot my bento at home, so I called my mom. MAMA!” along with the seemingly distressed little creature.

▼ Rock hyraxes in their natural habitat (not memes)

While the above entries are focused on a specific linguistic phrase, many of the JC & JK Buzzword Award nominations simply highlight trendy musical artists (or lyrics), actors, and social media influencers. We’ve highlighted a few of the standouts below.

Cutie Street

Cutie Street is an eight-member Japanese girls idol group that only just debuted in November 2024 with the single “Kawaii Dake ja Dame Desu ka?” (“かわいいだけじゃだめですか?”), which is itself another nomination on the list. The song’s title, which means “Is it not enough that I’m cute?” has since become something of a catchphrase, and the post-chorus symphony of nyanyanyas (“meowmeowmeows”) may live rent-free in your head if you’re not careful. Yes, we tend to think that it really is enough to be just cute.

▼ “Kawaii Dake ja Dame Desu ka?” music video

お金稼ぐ私はスター / okane kasegu watashi wa sutaa / “I earn money, I’m a star”

In a very different kind of musical genre from Cutie Street, American rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s summer 2024 track “Mamushi” featuring Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba has earned its place in the Japanese youth hall of fame. A prominent part of the song’s chorus is Megan rapping the line “Okane kasegu watashi wa sutaa,” which means “I earn money, I’m a star.” You can find countless renditions of fans lip-syncing and dancing to this line on TikTok and more, often with their own personal touches.

▼ “Mamushi” music video

平成女児 / heisei joji / “Heisei girl”

“Heisei” is the era of modern Japanese history from 1989-2019. The term “Heisei girl” refers to young women whose formative years were during the Heisei era and who are rekindling a nostalgic love for Heisei-era fashion, makeup, toys, and other cultural commodities. It seems similar to the wave of ’90s nostalgia that many Western countries are experiencing as well. We find it equal parts interesting and terrifying that the term “Heisei retro” (平成レトロ) was trending a few years ago, too, despite 2024 only being the sixth year of the subsequent and current Reiwa era.

▼ The first sign that my youth had ended was seeing a “Heisei million-hit” display collection of CDs at Book-Off and realizing that most of them are on my shelves at home.

たまごっち / tamagocchi / “Tamagotchi”

Speaking of Heisei things, Tamagotchi, the beloved virtual pet that was originally released in Japan in 1996, is back and trending! The name itself is actually a portmanteau of the Japanese words for “egg” (tamago) and “watch” (uocchi), and they’ve been popping up everywhere from Pizza Hut Japan to multi-balm these days. Maybe this year is finally the year that my younger brother will replace my original-generation Tamagotchi that he broke back in ’98 with an upgraded model.

▼ We even had fun trying to keep a virtual pet alive on the Tamagotchi Smart watch.

しなこワールド / shinako world / “Shinako World”

Shinako (しなこ), whose name is also its own entry on the list, is a Japanese YouTuber who works in the youth culture mecca of Harajuku, Tokyo and has fully embraced the vibrant Harajuku style of fashion that reached its peak popularity in the Heisei era. Her channel consists of various activities such as dancing and sweets-eating ASMR. In March 2024, she released a song and music video called “Shinako World” that put the spotlight on her colorful, candy-filled Harajuku lifestyle. The video has an astounding 27.5 million views as of this writing.

▼ “Shinako World” music video

なこなこカップル / nakonako kappuru / “Nakonako Couple”

Nakonako Couple is a hugely influential Japanese YouTuber/TikToker young couple attached to Asobisystem talent agency consisting of wife Nagomi and husband Ko-kun. Their channel serves as an eclectic lifestyle channel where they discuss a variety of topics such as skin care, weight training, and baseball and make plenty of media and in-person appearances. The couple were also recently married, which sent their adoring fans into a frenzy.

▼ The video of Ko-kun’s romantic proposal to Nagomi in November 2023

Well, how was that? Did you recognize any of the terms on this list? Official winners of the 2024 JCJK Buzzword Awards will be selected through an analysis of Instagram posting trends and organized into four categories: people, things, apps, and language. The results are slated to be unveiled on December 2.

If these current picks were completely unintelligible to you and make you feel old, perhaps now is a good time to brush up on some of your local Japanese dialects instead–which may actually be less mystifying than the ways of Gens Z and Alpha.

Source: PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: PR Times, SoraNews24, Pakutaso
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