Category: Politics
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Coalition
Word of the Day: Coalition In politics, a coalition is an alliance between multiple political parties to achieve a common goal. This is particularly relevant when no single party secures a majority in an election, leading to the necessity to form a coalition government. A coalition government emerges when two or more parties join forces,…
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Alternative facts
WotD: Alternative facts In today’s political landscape, the term alternative facts has become controversial, clearly depicting the ongoing struggle over truth and reality in public conversation. Introduced famously by a former US presidential advisor to Donald Trump (see below), alternative facts suggest that there can be multiple competing true facts about a single event or…
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Hung parliament
WotD: Hung parliament It may have slipped your attention, with all the focus on the American presidential election on Tuesday, but Japan recently held a national election, which surprisingly resulted in a hung parliament. A hung parliament is a term that refers to a situation where no single political party secures an outright majority in…
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Sanewashing
WotD: Sanewashing In today’s world, the term sanewashing has unfortunately emerged as a critical phrase in the conversation about American politics. Sanewashing or sane-washing is trying to minimize or reduce the radical aspects of a person or idea to make them appear more acceptable to a wider audience. I have grown tired of watching influential…
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Deep state
WotD: Deep state OK, now we are going to take a walk into the world of American polarized politics and conspiracy theories. You may have heard the term deep state in recent years, but unless you live in the US, you may not understand what it means and how it’s used in the context of…
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New world order
WotD: New world order The term new world order has been a subject of much debate and speculation in recent history. It refers to a new period of history that signals a significant change in the global balance of power. The concept of a new world order emerged following major international events, such as the…
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Sphere of influence
WotD: Sphere of influence Earlier this year, I created a lesson about English as the lingua franca and if that may change. The term sphere of influence came up, and now is as good a time as any to cover that here. A sphere of influence is a geographical area over which a country or…
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Useful idiot
WotD: Useful idiot As the term useful idiot has been thrown around quite a bit in the media lately, it’s important to understand what it means and how it can be used to describe certain individuals. A useful idiot is someone who is unwittingly manipulated by a more powerful political force to promote their agenda…
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Pork barrel politics
WotD: Pork barrel politics People, Japanese and visitors to Japan, often ask me why I chose to live in the countryside, especially Wakayama. My answer is dependent on pork barrel politics. Pork barrel politics is government spending intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support. In the extreme, it’s politicians openly…
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POTUS
Acronym of the Day: POTUS POTUS is an acronym for President of the United States. It’s an informal way to refer to the American President and is used by White House staff who talk about the President more often than regular people. It’s easier to refer to the President with this acronym than to say…
