In this special アラカルト we introduce another yearly roundup, so popular in Japan, the 新(しん)語(ご) ・流行(りゅうこう)語(ご)大賞(たいしょう). This is an award for the most popular new expressions and sayings which appeared in 2005, and here are the トップテン!

This expression was used to refer to 小(こ)泉(いずみ)首相(しゅしょう), Prime Minister Koizumi's 2005 election campaign. Meaning 'the Koizumi theatre', it refers to the circus-like 'one issue' election campaign that Koizumi waged to gain acceptance of his plan to privatise the Japanese post office system. He did this by putting up pro-privatisation candidates opposite existing 自(じ)民(みん)党(とう) (LDP) members who were against privatisation.

This word, which means ?assassin?, was used to refer to the strong pro-privatisation candidates which Prime Minister Koizumi put up in the election to oppose existing LDP members who were against privatisation of the post office system.

This expression was coined by ライブドア (LIVE DOOR) IT venture company director 堀(ほり)江(え)隆文(たかふみ). Horie is a young, go-getting businessman admired by many for taking on the established giant フジテレビ, Fuji TV. When questioned at a press conference about his failure in his battle with Fuji TV to acquire Nippon Broadcasting Company stock, he used the expression 想定(そうてい)内(ない), literally 'within expectations', to say that he had taken the possibility of failure into account. The fact that he has recently been arrested for unlawful practices is perhaps 想定(そうてい)外(がい)!

This expression, which is an abbreviation of クールビジネス ('cool business'), was coined by the Environment Minister. It refers to her attempt to save energy by raising the temperature of air conditioning in office buildings in summer. This suited female employees, but male employees found the temperature too hot, so the minister encouraged male employees to take off their ties and jackets, making their clothing 'cool'.

This is a phrase created by the men's magazine LEON. The magazine targets middle-aged male readers aged 30-50, and this catchphrase, meaning ちょっともてるおやじ, or 'slightly attractive middle-aged man', encourages men in this age group to maximise their modest charms in order to appeal to women.

The catch cry 'Ho!' was used by 住谷(すみたに)正(まさ)樹(き), member of the comedy duo レーザーラモン (Lazer Ramon). Dressing up as a 'Hard Gay', Sumitani broke onto the scene as レーザーラ モンHG. He is particularly popular among children, who imitate his gyrations and cry out フォーー!

This expression was used by the director of a business consulting firm. As the divide between rich and poor in Japan widened, the expression 金(かね)持(も)ち came to convey a sense of greed, so 高額(こうがく)所得者(しょとくしゃ), 'high income earner', was created. The expression 富(ふ)裕(ゆう)層(そう), 'well-to-do class', further softens the meaning.

This is the name given to千(ち)葉(ば)ロッテマリーンズ (Chiba Lotte Marines) baseball team manager Bobby Valentine. Known for his good player management and coaching, he led his team to victory in 2005.

This word first appeared in the world of アニメおたく, anime freaks. 萌(も)え〜 expresses the affection felt for アニメ and game characters. It is thought that the original word was 燃(も)える, to burn (with emotion), but another kanji 萌(も)える, to sprout, was accidentally used and has remained. Originally used with the names of characters, it is now also used preceding words like 業界(ぎょうかい), industry, and 銘柄(めいがら), stock issue, to refer to game and animation industries and stocks.