This is my last post for 2015. Tomorrow will be New Years Eve and then we will have New Year’s Celebration  on Jan 1st, 2016. I could be writing about the traditional New Years related article, but before we end 2015, let me share with you some popular items that were the highlights of 2015 in Japan. I will be posting New Years related articles soon once 2016 is here in two days.

 

Below, I have collected some of the items/trend that were most noticed in Japan in 2015. Social Media plays a big role these days in our lives. Have you seen these anywhere?

(Referenced article:http://www.iza.ne.jp/smp/topics/entertainments/entertainments-8852-m.html)

 

 

Keywords of the Year: 2015 by Google Japan（Most Searched Word in Google Japan)

 

No1. マイナンバー　（My number）

“My number” is a new system introduced by Japanese government in the fall of 2015. It is a new social security and tax number system.  In October 2015 every person who has residence record in Japan received a notification card with their unique individual number, “My number”. Until now, people in Japan never had any social security number.

 

 

Most Tweeted Article in 2015

Title translation: “Can’t believe the reaction of the dog when his owner fell!!”

“飼い主がいきなり倒れた時の犬の反応がやばい！！”

I found the Youtube version of this short movie. The post with this movie was the most tweeted post in 2015 in Japan. This is hilarious!

 

 

Most popular hash tag by Tweeter in 2015

….was “トレクル (Trecru)”  Abbreviation of “One Piece Treasure Cruse”

I am not sure if this smart phone app is available in U.S., but the word “Trecru(トレクル)” was the most used hash tag by Tweeter.  By the way, in Japan, longer words are often abbreviated into much shorter words.

 

 

The picture by Japanese celebrity that earned the most “Likes” in Instagram

 

This picture earned the most “Likes” by Instagram Japan in 2015. Her name is “Naomi Watanabe”, she is a Japanese actress and comedian.

 

2015 Dish of the Year ….

おにぎらず（Onigirazu）

 

おにぎらず means ” Onigiri(rice ball) with no need for molding”. It is a totally new way of making Onigiri, which we normally make by putting ingredients “inside” the rice ball. Onigirazu is a way of making almost “rice sandwich”. It is easy to make and allows you to become creative as to which ingredients to sandwich between rice!

 

 

There were some of the highlights of the year 2015 in Japan. Have you seen any of these? Personally, I love the short movie about the dog who ignored his owner!

Thank you so much for reading my posts in 2015.  I feel blessed that I can share Japanese language and cultural aspects of Japan here in this blog.  For those who left me comments and questions, I sure appreciate for every one of them. Thank you for taking the time to do so. I always love to hear from my readers, and I would like to incorporate more of your comments in my future posts for 2016. I will be back again in 2016. Just in case I might be a few days late, wishing you a Happy New Year!  Hope you will have many blessings in the year to come!