Japan’s Trending Words in Our 2019 Stories: SMILING CINDERELLA

What were the words and topics that Japanese couldn’t get enough of in 2019? What were the buzzwords on everyone’s lips? 

For this five-part series, we picked a selection from the popular “Trending Topic of the Year” award, given by U-Can Inc., and now give you JAPAN Forward’s articles that tackled those popular topics.  

Follow our countdown, with one topic per day, to what has been the most discussed online among the Japanese this year! 

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4. Smiling Cinderella 

Perhaps it’s a mark of humanity that we are always taken by an infectious smile. And this year, a 20-year-old golf wunderkind named Hinako Shibuno stole the show, gaining the nickname “Smiling Cinderella.” 

At JAPAN Forward, we happily reported on Shibuno’s unprecedented win at the British Open:

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• ‘Smiling Cinderella’ Hinako Shibuno wins AIG Women’s British Open

We also published a commentary on the power of Japanese women to win everyone over with a smile. 

• Japan’s Champion Lady Athletes and their ‘Smile Power’

Shibuno is just one of the many Japanese female athletes who show promise, especially looking forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Tennis champion Naomi Osaka is set to be a favorite. We take a look back at our analysis of what to expect from this young athlete in the future. 

• Naomi Osaka: High Hopes for the New Queen of Women’s Tennis

Author: JAPAN Forward

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