Vocabulary

presence; appearance; attendance; visit; going out

one's parents' home

departure; leaving; starting

to get involved or entangled in; to get mixed up in; to have something to do with; to have dealings with

severe acute respiratory syndrome; SARS

crude; unrefined; coarse; rough

police officer; cop

easy; smooth; without a hitch; quick

(very) patient; persevering

to go through; to pass through

upgrade

to move (to another area, country, etc.); to migrate

to hide; to be hidden; to conceal oneself; to disappear

sudden windfall; unexpected piece of good luck; azuki-covered mochi (fallen) from a shelf

multilateral; multinational

multilateral conference; multilateral negotiations

involvement of peer groups

recently; lately; these days

replay speed; playback speed

punch-line (of story or joke)

pedophilia

money belt

ornamental hairpin

boneless rib (esp. of pork or beef); boned rib

clarification; elucidation; explanation

Japan and Korea as one

they; those guys; those fellows

interbank payments system

the nail that sticks out gets hammered down; people that stick out too much get punished

to question again; to repeat a question (esp. a problematic point, or to verify understanding); to repeat a query

outline; summary; gist; abstract

congestive heart failure; CHF

dullness (esp. of the skin); lack of luster; dirt; soil; contamination

including (all of); -wide (e.g. company-wide); with (everyone); (concerning) the entirety of; all of

the most; the best; the greatest; supreme; unrivalled; unsurpassed

most of all; extremely; supremely

sata andagi; Okinawan sweet deep-fried bun similar to a doughnut

Okinawan lion (or lion dog) statue placed as talisman against evil at entrances and on roofs

sorry; excuse me; thank you

chinsuko; traditional Okinawan biscuit made with wheat flour, lard and sugar