Vocabulary

going to work; leaving for work; attendance (at work); being at work; presence (in the office); reporting for work

turnout (of people)

spring and autumn; spring and fall

New Year's Tournament (held in Tokyo in January)

beginning (of a century, etc.)

jurisdiction

prescribed; designated; appointed; fixed

cord; strap; thong

assistance; help; aid; support; reinforcement

assistant official

striking off a name; dropping a name (from a list); expulsion; excommunication

business discussion; negotiation

scholarship; stipend; bursary; grant-in-aid

small country

rifle; small arms

wheat

small build; small stature; petite

consent; approval; acceptance; agreement; compliance

invitation

eraser; rubber

digestion (of food)

passive; negative; conservative

syndrome

bell (often a large hanging bell); chime

area on Japan Sea side of Japan, including Niigata

skillful; skilled; proficient; good (at); adept; clever

report to a superior

usually; ordinarily; always

regular customer; regular patron; regular visitor; frequenter

tatami mat; Japanese straw floor coverings

to decorate; to ornament; to adorn

difference; disagreement; conflict; clash; discrepancy; inconsistency

tableware

invasion; incursion; raid; aggression; intrusion; trespass

newsprint; newspaper used for wrapping, packing, etc.

permeation (of thought, ideology, culture, etc.); infiltration (e.g. of ideas); spread; penetration (e.g. into a market); pervasion

directly opposite; right in front

to be intimate with; to befriend

National Personnel Authority

washi; Japanese paper