政府のA氏：「消費税については、見直しを考えています」
商店主：「そんなの無責任じゃありませんか。私は消費税の計算のために、コンピューターを入れ替えたんですよ」
Musekinin
Seifu no A shi: Shoohiizei ni tsuite wa, minaoshi wo kangaete imasu.
Shotenshu: Sonna no musekinin ja arimasen ka. Watashi wa shoohizei no keisan no tame ni, konpyuuta wo irekaeta'n desu yo.
Government
Official A: We're thinking of taking another look at the consumption tax system.
Shopkeeper: But that's just being irresponsible, isn't it? I switched over to a computer just to do those consumption tax Computations.
Musekinin means to fail or refuse to take responsibility for one's behavior.
Many kanji compounds can be preceded by the negating character mu (Nelson lists 245) : mujooken (unconditional, unqualified) , mushinkei (insensible) , muzai (innocent, not guilty), mushiken (without examination), mushumi (lack of taste, vulgarity, tasteless) are some examples.
Note the use of "musekinin ja arimasen ka." As the translation demonstrates, this is not the same "musekinin de wa nai" which would be translated, "But that's not being irresponsible." The use of ka after arimasen thus makes the sentence almost equivalent to musekinin desu (that's irresponsible). The feeling behind the expression is one of protest and disagreement. Another example-A: "Sore wa muda ja arimasen" ("That's not worthless" i.e., it is worth something). B: "Sore wa muda ja arimasen ka" ("Isn't that just a waste?" A: "Rare wa isha de wa arimasen" ("He is not a doctor"). B: "Kare wa isha de wa arimasen ka" ("But isn't he a doctor?!") (Behind this last example is the feeling: Why doesn't he look at the sick people? Why doesn't he know the reason people are sick?)
A major TV symposium lasting nine hours (three hours a night for three days) was recently broadcast. The subject was Japan's new shohizei seido (consumption tax system) and though the participants were opposed to the system, they were all preoccupied with little things like having to go to the supermarket and use ･1 coins. Jibun no koto dake kangaeru taido koso musekinin desu (It is precisely the attitude of thinking only about oneself that is irresponsible).
After Liechtenstein, the life expectancy rate in Japan is the highest in the world (Britannica Book of the Year 1989). The population over 60 is also growing all the time. But who is going to support Japan's elderly in the years ahead? Shouldn't Japan aim to become a welfare-state like Finland and Denmark where, after perhaps struggling to pay heavy taxes when young, people are able to spend their oldage secure and safe? Though no one likes to pay taxes, isn't it truly irresponsible to think that (musekinin sugi nai deshoo ka) and expect one's country to take care of you when you are old? Government officials mustn't spend all their time worrying about how to get taxes from taxpayers. They must also think carefully about how to put the taxes to good use. The greatest waste, as far as I'm concerned, is the money spent on the Self-Defense Forces. More and more money is wasted in this area all the time and w0 are unable to do anything about it.
Some other expressions using musekinin are: Musekinin na shacho, musekinin na sensei, musekinin na kaisha, henshuusha (editor), direkutaa (director), pairotto (pilot), gishi (engineer), sakka (writer), kensetsu kaisha (construction c6ttipany) v Responsibility pursues adults, That's what life's all about.