Vocabulary

common pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare)

new edition; new compilation

ceasing to write; ceasing one's writing activities; retiring as a writer; putting down one's pen

archer's left-wrist protector

together with ...

top-ranked firm; top-tier corporation; leading company; prestigious company; stellar company

to do together; to share; to participate in

improvement project; construction plan

tax arrears; failure to pay tax

sale price; selling price; sales value

negative question; question asked in the negative (e.g. "Can't you read Japanese?")

printed, semi-cursive, and cursive scripts

scarlet kadsura (Kadsura japonica)

declining birth rate and aging population

did; (have) done

and

indicates speculation

(I) will; (I) shall

to choose; to take; to select; to pick out

to write (prose, etc.)

running and cursive scripts

scarlet kadsura (Kadsura japonica)

noun incorporation

a matter of course; what is to be expected; par for the course

snow festival

sauroposeidon (dinosaur)

hazard area (flood, tsunami, etc.); danger zone; no man's land

Japanese-style confectionary store

Japanese-style confectionary store

(living on a) pension; annuity

entry qualifications; joining qualifications

lake ecosystem

oxygenated; oxygen

provisional figure

to be sacrificed; to become a victim (of); to fall victim (to); to lose one's life

disparity in technology; technological gap; technology gap

nil return; nothing offered (e.g. in wage negotiations)

party tax deliberation committee

loss-making corporation; money-losing enterprise; lossmaker

delivery service