IMAGE Or.... Lyrics in English by Janne Da Arc
誘導尋問 refers to questioning someone in a way that steers them toward a particular answer, often like an interrogation designed to make them reveal something. It combines 誘導 (guidance or steering) with 尋問 (interrogation), making it a memorable compound word.
In the song, the narrator says he feels as though he is being subjected to 誘導尋問, as people indirectly probe him about rumors and his supposed love story. The word captures his frustration at being manipulated into confirming gossip.
Janne Da Arc's "IMAGE Or...." is a singer fed up with people inventing his life for him. It opens on years of grinding, "道に迷いながら" (while losing my way) and "眠気殺した日々" (days spent killing off sleepiness), and all he got for it was "わずかな誇りと" (a little pride and) "ありえないウワサ" (unbelievable rumors).
The chorus is where he loses patience. "シャレにならない もう笑えない" (it's no joke, I can't laugh anymore). シャレにならない is a handy idiom: literally "it doesn't become a joke", meaning something has gone too far to be funny. He calls the whole thing "ふざけた伝言ゲーム" (a ridiculous game of telephone), using 伝言ゲーム, the Japanese name for the party game where a whispered message gets garbled down the line. Then he quotes half a proverb, "「火のない場所には、、、」" (where there's no fire...), the Japanese version of "no smoke without fire", and turns it on the gossipers: past a point, the rumors are "かなり有害な煙の様に、、、。" (like a pretty harmful smoke).
The second verse is aimed at fans who read his lyrics as diary entries. "こんな僕でもたまには" (even someone like me, sometimes) "愛を唄う事ぐらいある。" (sings about love now and then), so "すべてを詩とリンクさせないで" (don't link everything to my lyrics). The funny, honest twist comes in the bridge: he admits "なぜか五割ぐらいは、、、" (somehow about half of it) "的を射てる、、。" (hits the mark). 的を射る means to hit the target, the same as "spot on" in English. He ends up feeling like he's being "誘導尋問されてるみたい" (asked leading questions), a legal term for questions built to trap you into an answer.
