その政治家の発言は無責任極まると批判されている。
- That politician’s remarks are criticized as being extremely irresponsible.

その政治家の発言は無責任極まると批判されている。 meaning: The politician's remarks are being criticized as extremely irresponsible.

⚫︎ The core sentence structure follows the pattern: Subject + は (topic marker) + Object + を (object marker) + Verb. However, this sentence utilizes the passive voice. ⚫︎ The base sentence would be: 人々は、その政治家の発言を無責任だと批判する。 (People criticize the politician's remarks as irresponsible.) ⚫︎ The passive form transforms the object into the subject: その政治家の発言は (The politician's remarks). ⚫︎ The passive verb conjugation is formed by taking the stem of the verb (批判する -> 批判) and adding される (passive marker). ⚫︎ Therefore, 批判する becomes 批判される (to be criticized). ⚫︎ In this instance, the target action is being performed upon the subject, which changes the meaning to "is being criticized". ⚫︎ The use of the passive voice emphasizes the action (criticism) and shifts the focus from the critics to the subject of the criticism (the politician's remarks).

⚫︎ The verb 極まる means "to be the extreme of," "to reach the limit," or "to be utmost." It's often used to express a strong degree or intensity. ⚫︎ It is always used with the particle と. ⚫︎ In this sentence, 無責任極まると (extremely irresponsible) functions as an adverbial phrase, modifying the verb 批判されている. It emphasizes the degree of irresponsibility. ⚫︎ The adjectival noun 無責任 (irresponsible) is modified by 極まる and is linked by と. ⚫︎ Other examples include: 寒さ極まる (extremely cold), 危険極まる (extremely dangerous).

⚫︎ The particle と in 無責任極まると functions as a quoting particle. ⚫︎ It introduces a quote, thought, or content. ⚫︎ In this case, 無責任極まる is being quoted as the reason or content of the criticism. ⚫︎ It indicates that the criticism is *because* the remarks are considered extremely irresponsible. ⚫︎ Consider the similar use in ～と言われる (to be said that).

⚫︎ 無責任 is a *na-adjective* (adjectival noun). ⚫︎ Na-adjectives modify nouns, and they often end with な when used before the noun they modify. In this sentence, it modifies with 極まる after と. ⚫︎ Because 無責任 is a na-adjective, it conjugates in specific ways. ⚫︎ Its plain/dictionary form is 無責任. ⚫︎ Its negative form is 無責任ではない. ⚫︎ Its past form is 無責任だった. ⚫︎ In this sentence, it combines with 極まる to express a strong judgment.

⚫︎ The auxiliary verb られている is a combination of the passive form (-られる) and the continuous/resultative form (-ている). ⚫︎ The -られる form signifies the passive voice. ⚫︎ The -ている form indicates an ongoing action or the result of a past action. ⚫︎ In this context, 批判されている means "is being criticized" or "is in a state of being criticized." The criticism is an ongoing process. ⚫︎ The combination of passive and -ている often emphasizes the state resulting from an action. ⚫︎ It highlights that the politician's remarks are *currently* in the state of being criticized.