Finalists
E12 Ken Nemoto
E18 John Burn
E37 Ethan Sky Cubo
Runner-up
E29 Chiyo Brown
Winner
E39 Chloe Kalani
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Finalists
E12 Ken Nemoto
Sasu-kyu: Does the backhand compliment reflect anti-discrimination or regional discrimination?
Kaori Kawai, non-fiction writer
I hear that the phrase sa-shi-su-se-so (a set of five successive sounds from the Japanese alphabet hiragana) indicates techniques to flatter and attract men. It is an acronym for sasuga (Amazing! I knew you’d make it!), shirana-katta (I didn’t know that!), sugoi (You’re incredible!), sensu-ii (You have excellent taste!), and sounanda (Oh, I see!). The phrase, highlighted with a title “Boys crave compliments!” in a book published in 2018 that targeted primary school girls, once came under fire on the internet. Women argued that the phrase reflected the mindset of a male-centered society and criticized that it would promote gender stereotyping, but I felt that men would also find it very unpleasant. If any article made a feature of “Master ka-ki-ku-ke-ko to attract girls!” (another set of successive sounds) saying that all you have to do to please women is say things like kawaii (cute) or kirei (beautiful)”, it would make women feel insulted.
I remembered this topic when I saw sasu-kyu, a word which sarcastically refers to the male-chauvinistic culture observed in the Kyushu district, buzzing on social media. It is short for “sasuga Kyushu” (Amazing, that’s Kyushu!)”. Sasuga in this usage implies sarcasm and scorn.
The buzzing was sparked by a post to X made in April 2024 by a man who lived in Saga Prefecture. Referring to the bento his wife had made for him, he wrote, “I just texted my wife I was tired, hungry and wanted a bento and then she brought me this nice and crazy stamina bento. A great role model for wives!” It went viral drawing criticism with the hashtag #Sasu-kyu. The original post had been displayed around 28 million times when I checked it out.
On March 9, Nishinippon Shimbun, the largest regional newspaper in Kyushu, wrote on the front page of its morning edition about how more people are chatting about Sasu-kyu mocking the district on social media. The article suggested that all such buzzing on the Net smacked of regional discrimination, which made the topic more controversial across a wider range of people.
It would be true that many people feel that gender discrimination runs deeper in rural areas than in urban areas. And such discrimination must exist in Kyushu as well. However, there is no data which shows discrimination is particularly serious in Kyushu compared with other districts.
Discrimination involves multiple factors. Obviously, eliminating a certain discrimination must not result in generating another. For instance, I support the idea of reserving a certain number of seats exclusively for women in male-dominated settings during transition in order to bridge the gender gap; however, some point out that this would lead to reverse discrimination against men. An attempt to eliminate one kind of discrimination can breed other kinds of discrimination which are not only against women but also against a particular region, the poor, or others.
The question this time was that, aside from serious arguments on gender discrimination, posts and articles flooded which only promoted regional discrimination for fun just to draw more attention. There was a sort of agitative attention economy at work, as seen in an online manga that wrote “Many women in Kagoshima Prefecture are short because of constant and chronic malnutrition” as a result of having poorer diets than men, or online news that sought stories of sasu-kyu experiences to churn out articles.
Some people must have felt déjà vu from all this. In 2000s, hilarious and funny stories with or without foundation about Korea piled up on the internet and this actually led to anti-Korean trends and severe discrimination against resident Koreans. Each case must have its own context and each individual their own thoughts. However, it can never be justified to escalate discrimination against particular districts by generalizing personal opinions.
Appalling is the fact that those involved in the arguments are not aware that they are discriminating or being discriminated. In the article of Nishinippon Shimbun, a woman who had never lived outside of Kyushu was quoted as saying, “I’ve hardly felt I live in a male-chauvinistic society.” It may be true, or it may be that she had nothing to compare with. And those on the discriminating side may not necessarily be aware that their behaviors constitute discrimination. What is considered common sense in Japan about gender is sometimes criticized as discriminatory outside of Japan. The Global Gender Gap Index 2024 ranked Japan 118th out of 146 countries. Mocking the particular district of Kyushu will never get us anywhere.
Why don’t we take all these sasu-kyu arguments as an opportunity to think about unconscious discrimination as well as the mechanism of how eliminating a certain discrimination generates another?
E18 John Burn
Sasukyu – fighting discrimination through ridicule or just as guilty of it?
By Kawai Kaori, non-fiction writer
Have you heard of the mnemonic ‘sa, shi, su, se, so,’ referring to a technique that women can use to compliment men to supposedly gain popularity? The technique recommends inserting terms that begin with the ‘s’ set of sounds of the Japanese syllabary such as sasuga (That’s just like you!), shiranakatta (Oh, I didn’t know that!), sugoi (Wow, that’s amazing!), sensu ii (You’ve got great taste!) and sō nan da (Oh, really?), into conversation at appropriate points for maximum effect. These words come from a 2018 article aimed at young girls claiming, ‘Guys love being complimented!’ which set the internet on fire. Women criticized this as just another example of outdated views born of a male-oriented society and something that simply results in entrenching gender stereotypes, but personally, I don’t think men are particularly impressed by this technique either. If there were a similar article suggesting men should congratulate women using words based on the ka, ki, ku, ke, ko syllables, such as kawaii (You’re so cute!), kirei (You’re so pretty!) and so on, women would no doubt find that incredibly demeaning too.
Seeing the term sasukyu (an abbreviation of ‘sasuga Kyushu’) which ridicules the male chauvinism associated with the Kyushu region being spread all over social media reminded me of that previous firestorm. On this occasion, rather than being complimentary, sasuga is being used to sarcastically highlight a negative expectation or stereotype of Kyushu, by exclaiming ‘classic Kyushu!’
The whole thing started back in April 2024 when a man from Saga Prefecture posted a picture of a bentō (boxed meal) his wife had handmade for him on the social media site X with the following comment, ‘I just have to tell my wife “I’m tired. I’m hungry. Bring me a bentō.” and she makes me one of those stupid so-called “energy-boosting” meal things. She’s a good wife.’ People critically shared this all over, labelled with the hashtag sasukyu. When I checked, the original post had received 28 million views.
In response to the surge of sasukyu on social media, the Nishinippon Shimbun newspaper ran a front-page article for their 9th March morning edition, reporting that Kyushu residents felt this was regional discrimination, which resulted in the controversy becoming even bigger.
It is certainly true that many people feel sexual discrimination is more deeply rooted in provincial areas compared to metropolitan ones. Kyushu has its fair share no doubt. However, there is no data to show that Kyushu is particularly worse for sexual discrimination than any other area of Japan.
Discrimination is a complex problem, and it is counter-productive to create a new kind of discrimination in trying to solve an existing one. For example, I’m not sure that a transition period of enforced female quotas is necessary to solve the gender gap if that then actively discriminates against men. Efforts to eliminate discrimination need not be limited just to the issue of sex but can also extend to other factors such as region and wealth.
Whilst not wanting to belittle the serious issue of sexual discrimination, the proliferation of posts and articles that promote regional discrimination, even if done amusingly, is the problem I would like to highlight. An online manga stating, ‘many women from Kagoshima suffer short stature due to chronic malnutrition,’ attributed to them having to routinely consume poorer meals than their male counterparts and an explosion of online news articles collecting personal experiences of sasukyu caused a kind of inflammatory attention economy to flourish.
Is this starting to feel familiar? In the 2000’s, a build-up of amusing news items of dubious authenticity regarding South Korea led to a boom in anti-Korean hatred and a growth in serious discrimination towards South Koreans living in Japan. Of course, there may be legitimate concerns about individual cases, but that is no excuse to blow things out of proportion and promote wholescale regional discrimination.
Discrimination is terrible, but so too is being subject to it without even realising. In the Nishinippon Shimbun article, a lady who has never lived outside of Kyushu was quoted as saying ‘I’ve never experienced any male chauvinism.’ This could be completely true, but it could also be because she has no other point of reference to compare her experience to. There are probably also cases where people act in a discriminatory manner but are completely unaware of the fact themselves. Certain things that are considered perfectly normal regarding gender in Japan are often viewed as discriminatory in other parts of the world. In the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index which evaluated 146 different countries, Japan was ranked 118th. This is not a problem that will be easily solved just by singling out the Kyushu region for ridicule. Perhaps we should take the opportunity created by the sasukyu controversy to consider how anti-discrimination measures can lead to further discrimination and how we unconsciously discriminate in everyday life.
E37 Ethan Sky Cubos
The Sasukyu Slander: Anti-Discrimination or Regional Prejudice?
Kaori Kawai, nonfiction writer
There’s a charisma cheat code known as the 5 S’s consisting of 5 rhetoric words used to flatter men: skilled, smart, stunning, stylish, and surprising. These words were taken from an excerpt of a women’s magazine published in 2018 on how “men love compliments!”, which took the internet by flames. Many women critized these ideas, claiming they were conceived by male-dominated communities creating a fixation on gender, but I think men would also find it incredibly distasteful. If there were a 5 C’s to sweet-talk women with words like cute or charming, I’m sure these same women would find it similarly patronizing.
This matter came into mind as I read through discourse on the sasukyu slander trending on social media. Short for “sasuga Kyushu” (“As expected of Kyushu”), the term is used sarcastically to mock sexist behavior from men in Kyushu.
The sasukyu controversy started in April 2024 when a man from the Saga Prefecture made a post on X about lunch that his wife made for him stating: “I told my wife I was tired, hungry, and needed something to eat, then she soon came by with this stupid simple stamina meal,” and “She’s truly the perfect wife.” The hashtag #Sasukyu soon started trending on the site, bringing about a wave of criticism. Last I checked, the original post had already reached 28 million views.
On the morning of March 9th, Nishinippon Shimbun published a front-page article commenting on the trending sasukyu discourse online, citing potential regional prejudice. This article would bring more attention to the topic nationwide.
Indeed, many firmly believe that discrimination against gender is more common in rural regions than in the city. Kyushu is no exception to this belief. However, there is no data to suggest discrimination running more rampant in Kyushu than in other rural regions.
Discrimination has many moving parts, and it gets even more problematic when it cannibalizes other forms of discrimination. For instance, to close the gender gap in the workforce, gender quotas were proposed to bring more opportunities to women. I believe this framework may be necessary as we move away from outdated values, yet it can also discriminate against men. Such attempts at eliminating discrimination is not limited to gender; we also see similar systems targeting discrimination in different forms, such as regional and class discrimination.
This time, however—besides the serious discussion on gender discrimination—another problem lies with the many posts and articles promoting outrageous examples of regional prejudice for attention. There’s a web comic commenting on how “there’s an epidemic of short-statured women in Kagoshima caused by malnutrition” as a result of budget-quality meals in contrast to what’s on offer for men. Articles were also produced at mass, collecting stories of those who have experiences with sasukyu-like behavior. These all fan the flames of a competitive, attention-seeking economy.
Sound familiar? Back in the early 2000s, dubious and outrageous rumors surrounding Korea circulated online. This led to a serious uptick in anti-Korean sentiments and discrimination plaguing Korean residents. Many have differing experiences and thoughts on the problem, yet if we generalize and broadly acclaim such discrimination against any other country, would anyone find this behavior acceptable?
What’s more concerning is when people lack the ability to recognize discrimination—either from or towards themselves. In the article posted by Nishinippon Shimbun, they interview women who have no experience living outside Kyushu citing that “such sexism is rare to see.” Perhaps it truly is rare, or perhaps they lack a frame of reference to know for sure. Targets of discrimination can sometimes fail to see such treatment being dealt to them. The status quo of gender norms in Japan can also be seen as discriminatory in other cultures worldwide. According to the 2024 report on the Global Gender Gap Index, Japan ranked 118 out of 146 countries. The prejudice faced by Kyushu won’t go away if we continue to slander them. Instead, let's look at the sasukyu controversy as food for thought, and examine the systems used to eliminate discrimination that instead create it, as well as the prejudice that may be hidden behind our actions.
Runner up E29 Chiyo Brown
The Mocking Term ‘Sasu-Kyu’: Anti-Discrimination or Regional Discrimination?
Non-fiction Writer; Kaori Kawai
They say that when trying to attract men, one should follow the ‘sa-shi-su-se-so’ of compliments. Playing on the Japanese phonetic alphabet, the term consists of connecting the first syllables of the words sasuga (impressive!), shiranakatta (you’re so knowledgeable!), sugoi (that’s amazing!), sensu-ii (great taste!) and sounanda (wow, really?). In 2018, the ‘sa-shi-su-se-so’ concept was published in a book aimed at young girls alongside the tagline ‘boys love compliments!’, garnering considerable backlash online. Though women condemned the term as a product of patriarchy that reinforced gender stereotypes, I suspected men too would feel terribly uncomfortable about the concept. If, for example, there was a feature article about a ‘ka-ki-ku-ke-ko for girls’ which said words like kawaii (cute) and kirei (pretty) were enough to keep any lady happy, women would surely feel belittled.
All of this came to mind after I recently saw the term ‘Sasu-Kyu’ trending online as a way to ridicule misogyny in the Kyushu region of Southwestern Japan. A portmanteau of the phrase ‘Sasuga Kyushu’ (That's impressive, Kyushu!), ‘sasuga’ carries much sarcasm in this instance. The uproar began in April 2024, when a man from Saga Prefecture in Kyushu posted about his wife’s hand-made bento box on the social media platform, X. The post, which reads, ‘Just by telling my wife “I’m tired. I’m hungry. Bring me lunch.” she makes me this kind of “Idiotic stamina-boosting bento box” and brings it to me…what a good wife’, was shared across the internet with the ‘Sasu-Kyu’ hashtag and received widespread criticism. When I last checked, the original post had accumulated about 28 million views.
On the 9th of March, the front page of the Kyushu-based West-Japan Daily featured an article on the ‘Sasu-Kyu’ movement, arguing the term carried undertones of ‘regional discrimination’, further broadening the scope of the debate.
Indeed, the sentiment that regional Japan has more firmly-rooted gender-based discrimination than urban areas is likely widespread. Prejudice regarding gender roles undoubtedly exists in Kyushu. However, there is no evidence to suggest that gender-based discrimination is significantly worse in Kyushu than in other regions.
Discrimination is a complex issue. Attempting to address discrimination against one group by discriminating against others is clearly unacceptable. For example, while I believe implementing ‘gender quotas’ to address systemic gender imbalances in society is necessary during transitional periods, others have voiced concerns as to whether these quotas amount to discrimination against men. Efforts to correct gender-based discrimination can indeed extend beyond gender and lead to entirely unrelated forms of prejudice, such as regional or class-based discrimination.
The issue with the ‘Sasu-Kyu’ movement stems from an abundance of posts and articles that, instead of sticking to genuine debate about misogyny, jokingly encouraged regional discrimination in an attempt to seek out attention. Whether it be webcomics claiming that ‘every-day and chronic lack of nutrition causes women from Kagoshima [a prefecture in Kyushu] to be shorter in height’ due to being given a poorer diet than men, or online news sites that called for people's experiences with ‘Sasu-Kyu’ culture and published them en masse, the inflammatory attention economy has fuelled discrimination.
I’m sure some people will feel a sense of deja vu regarding these events. In the 2000s, the proliferation of dubious Korea-related stories brought about an anti-Korean movement and serious discrimination against Korean residents of Japan. Each of us has unique experiences and perspectives. However, generalising individual narratives to encourage discrimination against an entire region is in no way acceptable.
Worse still is when people don’t realise they are being discriminatory, or even that they are being discriminated against. In the West-Japan Daily’s article, a woman who had never lived outside of Kyushu claimed that she had ‘rarely experienced misogyny’. This may be because there really isn’t any misogyny in Kyushu, or because the woman had nothing to compare her experiences against. I’m sure there are cases where the person being discriminatory themselves doesn’t realise their actions could be seen as such. Even the concept of gender roles in Japan that we take for granted can be considered discriminatory within the global context. Japan placed 118th out of 146 Countries in the 2024 Gender Gap Index. These kinds of issues cannot be solved if we continue only to ridicule select regions like Kyushu. Instead, let us take the ‘Sasu-Kyu’ controversy as an opportunity to consider both our approach to subconscious discrimination and the structures that allow anti-discrimination measures to bring about discrimination themselves.
Winner E39 Chloe Kalani
“Sasu-Kyū”: Anti-Discrimination or Regional Prejudice?
KAWAI Kaori, Nonfiction Writer
There is a supposed technique for attracting men known as “sa-shi-su-se-so”. It strings together the first syllables of the phrases: SAsuga (“amazing”), SHIranakatta (“I didn’t know that”), SUgoi (“wow”), SEnsu ii (“good taste”), and SOu nanda (“I see”). This technique was featured in a 2018 book for young girls, promoting the idea that “boys like to be praised!” — sending the internet into an uproar. Women criticized it as a reflection of a patriarchal society that reinforces fixed gender roles. However, I felt that men too, would find the article deeply upsetting. If there were a feature entitled “Ka-Ki-Ku-Ke-Ko for Girls” — suggesting a technique for complimenting women with words such as kawaii (“cute”) or kirei (“pretty”) — I’m sure women themselves would likely feel insulted.
I was reminded of this when I saw “Sasu-Kyū” trending on social media. The term is an abbreviation for “Sasuga Kyushu” (“As expected of Kyushu”). In this case, the phrase comes off as a sarcastic jab, mocking misogynistic men in Kyushu.
The uproar began in April 2024, when a man from Saga Prefecture posted on X (formerly Twitter):
I told my wife, “I’m tired. I’m hungry. Bring me a lunch box,” and she showed up with an energy-packed lunch only a fool could think up. Good job, wife.
The post quickly went viral, tagged critically with #SasuKyū. When I last checked, it had already been viewed about 28 million times.
As the Sasu-Kyū mockery spread, the Nishinippon Shimbun published a lead article on March 9, arguing that the criticisms felt like “regional prejudice.” This ignited an even wider debate.
Certainly, many people feel that gender discrimination is more deeply instilled in rural areas than in cities, and Kyushu is no exception. However, there is no evidence that gender discrimination is particularly worse in Kyushu compared to other regions.
Discrimination is a complex issue. You cannot create one form of discrimination to solve another. For example, while I think “gender quotas” may be necessary during a transitional period to address the gender gap against women, they also raise concerns about reverse discrimination against men. Efforts to correct prejudice can sometimes extend biases beyond just gender to other variables, such as region or economic status.
Besides the serious discussions about gender inequality, what differentiates Sasu-Kyū is the flood of “clickbait” posts and articles that exploited the issue for attention while fueling regional bias. For example, an online comic claimed that “Kagoshima women are often short due to chronic malnutrition caused by being given poorer meals than men,” and online news outlets rushed to publish collections of Sasu-Kyū testimonials. These are just a few examples of the provocative clickbait culture at work.
Some may find this familiar. In the 2000s, dubious online comedy posts about South Korea trended, leading to an anti-Korea sentiment and serious discrimination against ethnically Korean residents in Japan. Each person has their own experiences and feelings, but when topics are generalized, it perpetuates harmful stereotypes about a region.
What’s most frightening is not realizing when one is discriminating — or being discriminated against. In the Nishinippon Shimbun article, a woman who had never lived outside Kyushu said, “I’ve hardly ever felt that men are misogynistic here.” Perhaps there really isn’t much of a problem, or perhaps she simply lacks a point of comparison. Furthermore, there may be cases where those who discriminate may not recognize their own prejudice. What’s considered the gender norm in Japan might be seen as discriminatory in an international context. In the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, Japan ranked 118th out of 146 countries. This issue cannot be disregarded and mocked as merely a Kyushu problem. The Sasu-Kyū controversy should prompt us to think about how attempts to correct discrimination can breed new types of prejudice and unconscious bias.