WASHINGTON--For the first time in 11 years that the Google search engine has released the most-searched-for words of the year, a kanji word has made the fastest-rising list, beating out the late Steve Jobs and his iPad2.
WASHINGTON--For the first time in 11 years that the Google search engine has released the most-searched-for words of the year, a kanji word has made the fastest-rising list, beating out the late Steve Jobs and his iPad2.
"Tokyo Denryoku" (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) ranked among the top 10 fastest-rising search terms on Google, after the accident at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant drew worldwide saturation media coverage.
The Chinese character for TEPCO was ranked eighth in the fastest-rising category on the annual Google Zeitgeist, released on Dec. 15.
The number of searches for the term sharply increased after the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant erupted, following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, Google said.
Searches for terms such as "denryoku" (electric power) and "Tokyo" have increased in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as in Japan, boosting the total number of hits.
U.S. YouTube star Rebecca Black, the 14-year-old singer whose "Friday" became a big hit, took the top spot for fastest-rising searches.
Steve Jobs, co-founder and former chief executive of Apple Inc. who died in October, was ranked ninth, while Apple products "iPhone5" and "iPad2," were listed as the sixth and the 10th fastest-rising search terms, respectively, in the category.