Vocabulary

mother

small insect; midge

someone who is going

head-on fight; direct confrontation; head-to-head contest

to ask a big favour; to ask unreasonable things; to be unreasonable

anti-aircraft weapon

mochi

New Year's clothes

playing with fire

appearing rustic

tied-up hairstyle

winter landscape; winter scenery; wintry landscape; wintry scene

striped cotton fabric imported from Sao Tome, also copied in Japan

Monema flavescens (species of slug moth)

deception; defrauding someone; fooling someone; swindling; false pretences

automatic (e.g. door, gun, etc.)

semi-automatic (transmission, firearm, etc.)

frozen dew (in late autumn)

the same (age, social status); peer

pusher (in a mine)

derisory; negligible; minimal; nominal; imperceptible

person who is coming (esp. to join a household as a bride or groom)

girls-only drinking party

acoustic system; auditory system; hearing system

the sciences; STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)

(tidal) bore; eagre

tidal river

Tōhoku earthquake (March 11, 2011); Tohoku earthquake; Sendai Earthquake; Great East Japan Earthquake

earthquake information

estuary; estuarine basin; tidal area; tidal reach; tidal zone

tsunami advisory

exchange rate

soaring prices; wild price spiral

double election (e.g. of the lower and higher chambers)

double election (e.g. of the lower and higher chambers)

abolition of regulations; deregulation

Japan's Big Bang (financial deregulation and reform program; 1996-2001)

bubble economy (of Japan; 1986-1991)

recession caused by the strong yen

economic boom created by the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games (1962-1964)