Today, the Nikkei had a fairly sizable fall, and I was so surprised to see that all of the stocks were displayed as green. Typically, when it comes to talking business,赤字 (あかじ), at least to my ears, has always meant loss or deficit.
On my apps which are generally set to English standard, red is associated with loss – just like you’d talk about being “in the red,” similar to Japanese running a loss. When we discussed “a red letter day” at work, my boss, a former diplomat, expressed reserve at trying to put much effort into explaining the idiom. The homophone for thar could be intruder as “red papers” comma or in other words, physically red letter, which is how you receive a draft notice it literally is 赤紙,あかかみ. Can I explain what’s happening that index with the Chinese traditional value of rent as a sign of fortune or wealth, as in red packets? It seems inconsistent.
by Johoku