Well, at least he's honest. I guess? Or, more likely, he doesn't know what the shirt means. You see, another Japanese celebrity has been caught with a questionable English t-shirt.
Earlier this year, a Japanese kids' show host wore an outfit that read, "I love cock," while a pop star donned an unfortunate shirt that read, "I am a whore."
The above "asshole" image was tweeted out by @yuuuka_1006 today and already has over nine thousand likes. Yes, over nine thousand! That's actor Osamu Mukai wearing a shirt that reads, "Please trust me. I am asshole."
Realize that online in Japan, some people are literally translating "asshole," writing "ketsu no ana" (ケツの穴), which totally loses the nuance of the English word "asshole." Others are aware that perhaps a better translation would be "saiteina yatsu" (最低なヤツ). Or maybe because it's missing the article "an," the shirt is saying that he is an actual anus. Oh, I really don't know anymore!
On 2ch, Japan's largest net forum, many thought that the above image was a Photoshop.
Mukai really did wear the shirt on variety show You Knock on a Jumping Door!, which is broadcasted on major network Fuji TV. As one 2ch commenter noted, it appeared on the show a few years back—not many seemed to have really noticed it online in Japan until today. And no word if Mukai was aware of the meaning.
[Photo: Danger Mousie]
What's more, he wore the same shirt on a prime time TV series called Hungary, so this was probably an outfit from the program. It seems some English-speaking Japanese television fans noticed at the time. While some English profanity is famous in Japan (like "fuck" and "shit"), "asshole" doesn't appear to be that well known, which is why one net user actually put that question on Yahoo! Japan, saying he or she had noticed "Please Trust Me I Am Asshole" on a t-shirt and wanted to know what it meant.
Before the show even aired, it seems similar asshole shirts were even being priced at 8,400 yen a pop—which is around $84. Now selling that t-shirt at that price takes a special kind of asshole.
向井理の着てる英字Ｔシャツｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ [ログ速]
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.