Takashi's Japanese Dictionary

A blog for learning Japanese that introduces Japanese slang words and Idioms!

  • Home
  • Dictionary Tools ▾
    • Furigana and Definition Lookup
    • Japanese Synonym Finder
    • Katakana Word Converter
  • Blog Posts ▾
    • Latest Posts
    • Phrases by Topic
    • Slang
    • Idiom
    • Column
    • Grammar
    • 英語に関する記事 (in Japanese)
  • Lesson Slides ▾
    • For Complete Beginners
    • For Intermediate/Advanced Learners
  • Vocab List
  • What’s New
  • Social Media
  • About
You are here: Home / Column / 正義マン (Justice Man): “Warriors” Against “Eat-in Tax Evasion” in Japan

正義マン (Justice Man): “Warriors” Against “Eat-in Tax Evasion” in Japan

July 5, 2020

What’s Seigi Man (“Justice Man”) in Japanese?

正義マン (せいぎまん, seigi man) is a relatively new slang term which literally means “justice man”. It is a derogatory term for “do-gooders” or “sanctimonious moralists” who are always looking for someone to abuse for doing something immoral or unethical — no matter how trivial they are — just to show off their moral superiority. Presumably, most of them also act as  “自粛警察” (“self-restraint police”).

Japan’s New Controversial Tax System

Background

This word became popular when Japan’s new consumption tax system was introduced in October 2019, which taxes takeout meals at 8% and dining out at 10%. This rule applies to every single store that serves food in Japan, which includes fast-food restaurants and even food court shops. This means that, if you take out food at a food court, the tax rate stays at 8%, whereas if you buy food to eat at a table in the food court, you ought to pay the extra 2% upon your order for the “fine-dining” option.

What’s イートイン脱税 (“Eat-in Tax Evasion”)

A more ambiguous and controversial case than the food court example above is when you buy food at a convenience store and eat them at its tiny “eat-in” space, which is located at the corner of the store (with or without chairs) and can accommodate only a couple of people. As in the food court case, you’re supposed to pay the 10% tax if you intend to “dine-in” at a convenience store — however if you buy food as takeout and then “change your mind” and eat them at the eat-in space, the tax is calculated as 8%. This way of circumventing the extra tax is called イートイン 脱税 (“eat-in tax evasion”) in Japanese, which, however, is rather an ethical issue since nobody has ever been charged for it.

Soon after the tax system was introduced, there have been some people who roll up their sleeves to find someone who does the “eat-in tax evasion”, and joyfully snitch to the staff at a convenience store about their behaviour. The word 正義マン (“justice man”) then come into popular use to describe those people who do this kind of moralistic behaviour, which they argue is “a fight for justice”.

While those “justice men” are clearly quite irksome, the people who deserve the most criticism are clearly those who decided to introduce such an unduly complicated and ambiguous tax system in Japan.

See also

自粛警察 (jishuku keisatsu): “COVID Self-Restraint Police” in Japan

Filed Under: Column

Related Posts

  • Meaning and Origin of Reiwa, Heisei and Shōwa, Japan’s Imperial Eras

  • Meaning and Origin of Reiwa (令和) in Japanese

    Meaning and Origin of Reiwa (令和) in Japanese

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese

    “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese

  • What’s 合コン (gōkon) and 街コン (machikon) in Japanese

  • Meaning and Origin of 平成 (Heisei)

    Meaning and Origin of 平成 (Heisei)

Featured Posts:

  • Japanese Conversation Practice to Master 気-related Idioms
  • “Gakkī Loss”: Meaning of ロス (“Loss”) in Japanese
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)
  • 40 Ways of Saying "Many" in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, and More...)
  • 8 Funny and Cute Japanese Cat Idioms
  • Success Story of Ichiro Suzuki: What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans

Popular Posts:

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • Meaning of Kenja Time (賢者タイム, kenjataimu) in Japanese Slang
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means More Than “Anyway”
  • List of Similar and Confusing Kanji With Different Meanings
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • Japanese and English Words that Rhyme in Both Languages
  • Meaning of “Paper Driver” in Japlish (Japanese English)
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very” and Their Nuances
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • Meaning of 相合傘 (ai ai gasa): Lovely Dream of Japanese Kids
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases
  • Meaning of “Three-Day Monk” (三日坊主, mikka bouzu) in Japanese

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ブログランキング・にほんブログ村へPVアクセスランキング にほんブログ村

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

Trending Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • List of Similar and Confusing Kanji With Different Meanings
  • 5 Meanings of 気 (ki) and 30 気-related Japanese Phrases
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Real and Unknown Meanings of “Hentai” in Japanese
  • 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very” and Their Nuances
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • Meaning of Kenja Time (賢者タイム, kenjataimu) in Japanese Slang
  • List of Confusing “Japlish/Janglish” (Japanese English)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases
  • What’s 合コン (gōkon) and 街コン (machikon) in Japanese
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • List of 50+ Japanese Words to Describe Personality
  • あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting
  • 20 Japanese Twitter Slang Words in 2010s/2020s
  • ヤンキー (yankee) Means “(Old-Fashioned) Loutish Youths” in Japanese

Popular Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of Kenja Time (賢者タイム, kenjataimu) in Japanese Slang
  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words to Describe Food
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Song You Sing Best”

Words by Theme

  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)

Idiom

  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Song You Sing Best”
  • How The Japanese Word 神 (Kami, ‘God’) Is Used Metaphorically
  • Japanese Idiom “Put on a Cat”, 猫をかぶる (neko wo kaburu)

Japlish

  • 深夜テンション (shinya tension) Meaning “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of “Paper Driver” in Japlish (Japanese English)

Slang

  • 女たらし (onna tarashi) Meaning ‘Lady’s Man’ in Japanese
  • Toka, Kana, Kamo: Japanese Vague Expressions
  • Japanese “活 Words”: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu)

Column

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • イチロー (Ichiro): What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans
  • Meaning of 遠慮 (enryo) and 空気を読む (kuuki wo yomu)

Grammar

  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Slang Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without ない (Nai)
  • Ageru, Kureru, and Morau: Meaning, Grammar and Difference

日本語記事

  • 韻を踏むお茶目な英語表現、単語、フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • 頭に情景が浮かぶ面白い英語フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • many, much, a lot ofの類語、 言い換え英語表現50+の使い分け
  • 直訳すると変な英語表現、イディオム12
  • 「開き直る」の2つの意味と英訳

Categories

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved