TOKYO AP The juries are in the votes have been cast and a Tokyo publisher has announced the 10 most popular new phrases to enter the Japanese language this year. The Jiyu Kokuminsha Inc. unveiled the winners chosen every year by a long selection process involving juries made up of readers at an awards ceremony Tuesday night showcasing Japan's love of neologisms. This year's top choice: ``the wizard of Yokohama'' the nickname for ace relief pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki of the Yokohama Bay Stars professional baseball team. ``I was embarrassed to be called wizard but from now on I'll hold my head up high'' Sasaki told those in attendance at the ceremony. The No. 2 spot went to ``the nobody the soldier and the weirdo'' a phrase that captured public disgust for the three candidates for prime minister who vied for the top spot in a ruling party election last July. The nobody referred to the eventual victor Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi an uninspiring public speaker who started his Cabinet with one of the lowest approval ratings in Japanese history only to see it decline ever since. Liberal Democratic lawmaker Seiroku Kajiyama earned the moniker the soldier for sitting at attention through television debates and spouting conservative opinions a spokeswoman for the event said. The weirdo Junichiro Koizumi attracted attention more for his outlandish unkempt hair than any compelling vision for his country's future. Rounding out the top three was ``I told ya so!'' a phrase made popular among school girls by the Pirates a female pop duo. The phrases were chosen by 5000 juries made up of readers of Jiyu Kokuminsha's most popular book Elementary Knowledge of Modern Language a dictionary published yearly of new words and phrases. A committee compiled the winners from the juries' votes. UR; mef APW19981201.0142.txt.body.html APW19981201.0962.txt.body.html