When 総理 met 首相

[MojoPriest]

Hi,
while watching the latest Japanese-language news about British politics, I noticed that Prime Minister Kishida of Japan was referred as ‘souri’ (総理), which is part of WaniKani lessons.

However, when the British Prime Minister was discussed, the word used was ‘shusho’ (首相), which is not included in WaniKani vocabulary.

Is 総理 reserved for Japanese prime ministers only?

best,
Jari
—

[finechty]

I think the British Prime Minister is 馬鹿 !

[ekg]

[Rrwrex]

Good question.

It appears the short answer is “yes”: 「総理」と「首相」の違いは？: 日本経済新聞

総理 is an abbreviation of 内閣総理大臣 a term from Meiji-era constitutional law.

首相 is just a word that means “prime minister”.

(If I’m reading that article correctly.)

[Rrwrex]

I think the current British PM is Schrodinger-san’s 猫.