We're talking about "e" as it is used as an open other-initiated repair, the fact that it has a dozen other usages is irrelevant here. "E" (and sometimes "a",

We're talking about "e" as it is used as an open other-initiated repair, the fact that it has a dozen other usages is irrelevant here. "E" (and sometimes "a", though I believe that might be regional and more context-dependent) is definitely used as an open other-initiated repair word in Japanese, meaning they can be used in the place of "huh" in the following dialogue pattern: "Hey, what time is it?" "Huh?" "I said, what time is it?"