National News

Tax kanji chosen as best characterizing 2014

音声ダウンロード

The kanji zei, or tax, was chosen as the single best Chinese character that characterized the year in Japan, a Kyoto-based kanji promotion organization said Dec. 12.

On April 1, the national sales tax was raised, putting pressure on household budgets. Also, a series of scandals drew criticism this year involving national and local politicians’ use of taxpayer money.

The kanji scored 8,679 votes from 167,613 entries from the public, according to the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation. (Kyodo)

今年の漢字は「税」

今年１年の世相を表す「今年の漢字」が12月12日、京都の清水寺で発表され、消費税増税や政治家による税金の不正使用問題があったことを理由に「税」が選ばれた。

The Japan Times ST: December 26, 2014