族議員

• 読み: ぞくぎいん
• ローマ字: zoku giin
• 漢字の分解: 族 (zoku) — tribe, clan, group; 議 (gi) — deliberate, discuss; 員 (in) — member
• 発音: /zokɯɡiːn/

意味

Politician allied with a special interest group; policy tribe member. A lawmaker who consistently champions a particular industry or ministry.

A compound of 族 (tribe, clan) and 議員 (member of parliament). The term captures the cosy, long-standing relationships between certain politicians and the industries or bureaucratic ministries they advocate for — such as 建設族 (construction lobby) or 農林族 (agriculture lobby). It carries a mildly pejorative nuance, implying that party allegiance is subordinated to sectoral interest.

例文

1. 農業予算の増額を推し進めたのは農林族議員たちだった。
2. 族議員の存在が政策決定を歪めていると批判する声は多い。
3. 建設族議員は公共事業の削減案に一斉に反対した。

使い方ガイド

場面: politics, journalism, policy studies, social criticism

トーン: critical

起源と歴史

The metaphor of 族 (tribe) applied to politicians dates from the 1970s Japanese press, when commentators began labelling lawmakers by their patron industries. The term reflects the factional, clientelist nature of LDP-era policymaking.

文化的背景

時代: Post-war (Shōwa–Heisei)

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Political class