Ruddy Ruddy Ruddy, Oi Oi Oi

Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as prime minister for a second time, three years after being deposed, and now faces the daunting task of reworking policy and replacing more than one third of the cabinet just months before an election. I wish him luck with that, but there is somebody in Japan who will need it more. That person is Hoji Takahashi, and he is suing Japan's national broadcaster, NHK, for "mental distress" caused by an excessive use of words borrowed from English. Mr. Takahashi is seeking 1.4 million yen (NZ$18000) in damages from NHK. Mr Takahashi, who is a member of a campaign group supporting the Japanese language, highlighted words such as "toraburu" (trouble), "risuku" (risk), and "shisutemu" (system) in NHK's news and entertainment programmes. He accused NHK of irresponsibility by refusing to use native Japanese equivalents. "The basis of his concern is that Japan is being too Americanised," his lawyer Mutsuo Miyata told the news agency AFP. That lawsuit is just stupid. I would never file suit against a TV channel over their choice of language or programming. If he doesn't like the programme, he should watch something else or go tend to his rock garden.