[English/Japanese] Yesterday, the kanji character representing Japan for this year was announced. This event takes place every year. Incidentally, this year’s kanji was "gold." Why do you think this kanji was chosen? The reason is that the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo this year. Japan won more gold medals than ever before, which led to the selection of this kanji. So what else was popular this year? Let’s explore Japanese culture through this year’s trends. Maritozzo Maritozzo is a pastry that originated in Rome, Italy. It consists of a round bread roll filled generously with cream and is eaten as breakfast in Italy. This year, maritozzo became a major trend in Japan. Many cafes and convenience stores stocked maritozzo, and long lines formed as people queued to buy it. It is not unusual in Japan for sweets from other countries to become popular this way; for example, last year it was tapioca from Taiwan, and before that, macarons from France. Japan is an island nation with a strong curiosity about other cultures, and that curiosity may show up in the foods we enjoy. Movie Box Office Revenue In this year’s global box office rankings, live-action films from China and the United States occupy the top five spots. Is the situation the same in Japan? Japan’s box office rankings look completely different. From first to fifth place, all the top films are live-action adaptations of anime or manga. Last year, the anime film Demon Slayer rewrote the all-time box office record. Although many theatergoers are teenagers, age differences among audiences are not that large. In other words, people of all ages watch anime films. That shows how deeply anime and manga are woven into Japanese culture. The Real Two-Way / Showtime The terms "real two-way" and "showtime" were nominated as buzzwords this year. These two expressions refer to Shohei Ohtani, who plays in Major League Baseball in the United States. Words related to baseball players are often chosen as buzzwords in this way. When foreigners think of sports in Japan, many imagine sumo. However, few know that baseball is actually the most widely followed sport in Japan. When I tell this to international students, they often reply, "I thought soccer was more popular than sumo," or "I don’t know much about baseball." Do you feel the same? In this article, I introduced some of the things that were popular in Japan this year. I will continue with more in the next issue. By the way, our school holds an event where students introduce trends from their own countries. It’s a great opportunity to learn about different countries’ trends and to deepen cross-cultural understanding. Please tell us what’s popular in your country. Yesterday, the kanji character representing Japan for this year was announced. This event takes place every year. Incidentally, this year’s kanji was "kin" (gold). Why do you think this kanji was chosen? The reason is that the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo this year. Japan won the most gold medals in its history, which led to the selection of this kanji. So what else was popular this year? Let’s explore Japanese culture through this year’s trends. Maritozzo Maritozzo is a pastry that originated in Rome, Italy. It consists of a round bread roll filled generously with cream and is eaten as breakfast in Italy. This year, maritozzo became a major trend in Japan. Many cafes and convenience stores stocked maritozzo, and long lines formed as people queued to buy it. It is not uncommon in Japan for sweets from other countries to become popular in this way; for example, last year it was tapioca from Taiwan, and before that, macarons from France. Japan is an island nation with a strong curiosity about other countries’ cultures, and that curiosity may show up in the foods we enjoy. Movie Box Office Revenue Looking at this year’s global box office rankings, live-action films from China and the United States occupy the top five spots. Is Japan the same? Japan’s box office rankings are completely different from the global list. From first to fifth place, all the top films are live-action adaptations of anime or manga. Last year, the anime Demon Slayer replaced the previous record holder to become number one in the all-time box office rankings. While many moviegoers are teenagers, age differences among audiences are not so large. That means people of all ages watch anime films. That indicates how thoroughly anime and manga have become part of Japanese culture. Real Nitoryu / Showtime The buzzwords nominated this year included "Real Nitoryu" and "Showtime." These two words refer to Shohei Ohtani, who excels in Major League Baseball in the United States. It is common for expressions related to baseball players to be chosen as buzzwords. Many foreigners imagine sumo when they think of sports in Japan. However, few know that baseball is actually the most popular sport in Japan. When I tell this to international students, they answer, "I thought soccer would be more popular than sumo," or "I don’t really know what baseball is." Do you share the same opinion? This time I introduced some things that were popular in Japan this year. I will continue to introduce more next time. By the way, our school holds an event where people present popular things from their own countries. It provides a valuable opportunity to learn about trends from various countries and to foster intercultural understanding. Please tell us what’s popular in your country.