07/12/2016

                                       Memories of  OREGON

 

                                                     10 Years Ago

                                           Multnomah Falls, OR, U.S.A.

 At 620 feet, Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon and it's just a half hour drive from Portland, one of the most visited spots in the state as well. I visited here on Jul. 2006.

                                                  Multnomah Falls

                                                  Multnomah Falls

 

                                                      10 Years Ago

The deepest (nearly 2,000 feet) lake in America is a caldera, the hole left by a volcano  that erupted thousands of year ago. Its impossibly blue waters are the snow and rain that have gathered there over centuries. I visited there on  Jul. 2006  with my brother Masanori.

                                                    Crater Lake, OR                                           

                                                        Crater Lake

 

                      いい夢と悪い夢　Dream Catcher

　　　　　ドリーム・キャッチャーって知ってますか。ネイティブ・アメリカンのお守りです。

　　　　　夜に良い夢を見るためのお守り、2002年、アメリカ旅行の時に買って帰りました。

　　　　　東部のノースカロライナでネイティヴ・アメリカンのチェロキー族の記念館を訪ねた

　　　　　時に土産として手にしました。

                                                           Dream Catcher

                                                           Dream Catcher

　　　　　　　　　大西飛行士は日本の11番目の宇宙飛行士で全日空の出身だ

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Onishi, ISS crewmates safely back on Earth

                                                                                                                                                          Kyodo, Reuters                  

 

Japanese teens take their love from ‘purikura’ to the web

          by Patrick ST. Michel   Special To The Japan Times Article history         

 Like many teenage couples, Kazumasa and Riko love documenting important memories in their relationship — say, an anniversary or a trip to Okinawa. They also like to share short movies about their life as a couple online, and so far their clips have been viewed more than 18 million times.

“It was almost two years ago we started, and I don’t think we were shy about posting videos,” Riko says about their creations, which they share under the name Cyanrico. “We are more embarrassed about how our videos in the beginning sucked.”

The Kumamoto-based couple post videos on MixChannel, a social network that has become a popular digital destination for Japanese teens. Statistics provided by Donuts, the company behind MixChannel, show that by the end of 2015 the smartphone application had been downloaded around 5 million times. The main user base comprises teenagers, primarily in high school, with 81 percent being women. It has become the second most-used video application in Japan, behind only YouTube. “In the 1990s, Japanese companies created purikura (“print club” sticker photos) machines, and teenagers developed a sharing culture. They’d take pictures for anniversaries or graduations with friends and share them,” Yohei Nishimura, ad sales director for MixChannel says from Donuts’ office in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward. “But with the Internet, they shared pictures on Twitter and Instagram, and now with MixChannel, they can share their daily life in videos.” Launched in December 2013 and inspired by Vine, MixChannel allows users to create short videos and post them to one of the site’s categories, ranging from Omoshiroi (funny), to Twins (where two people dance in synch to a song). Each division features rankings of the most popular videos and creations. Nishimura says this helps foster an active community, one where users put more effort into their creations in order to move up in popularity. This competitive push prompts creators to spend time perfecting their videos. Nishimura says users utilize many other apps — from Photoshop-esque programs to selfie enhancers such as Snow (if you’ve seen someone sporting dog ears recently in photos, thank Snow) — to produce the best possible work. Music plays a huge role in most clips, and MixChannel has a special deal in place with the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) allowing for the use of many big-name artists’ sounds. Although the dance-centric “Twins” category has resulted in MixChannel’s first “stars” — that would be the duo Macomina, primed to make a major label debut this July — Nishimura says the platform has become best known for its Love category, where young couples share clips centered on their relationship, attracting millions of views and fans. These offerings range from phone conversations to slide shows documenting special occasions or travels. It’s MixChannel’s most unique offering — there’s no social media platform anywhere else explicitly celebrating youthful relationships (and, even, amicable breakup announcements). Kazumasa and Riko (who, due to school rules, asked their full names not be published) started dating five years ago, and discovered MixChannel through a friend near the end of their final year. “The first video I saw was a father and his little daughter doing some popular comedian’s jokes. I remember I watched that video over and over,” Riko says. She goes on to say they were drawn to the application’s simplicity, along with how everyone using it appeared to be around the same age as them. But that wasn’t the ultimate reason they started their channel. “To make our memories,” Riko says. “Sometimes we watch our videos and enjoy those times, we remember our memories together.” They do this with more than 63,000 people who are fans of the Cyanrico uploads, which Riko says take an hour or two to create. They have no reservations about who sees the clips, including friends and family. “They look forward to all of our updates!” Having attracted the sought-after demographic that Riko and Kazumasa represent, MixChannel itself is looking toward the future. Nishimura says they want to focus on developing more performers who can cross over to other platforms, and continue developing advertising opportunities with other companies (currently, ads appear between and before clips). They are also eyeing expansion into the rest of Asia. As for Cyanrico, they aren’t thinking beyond the present, and plan to continue uploading to MixChannel. “We got lots of comments from others like ‘Your videos make me smile’ or ‘I feel a great peace of mind when I watch your videos,’ ” Riko says.

Check out MixChannel at mixch.tv.

 

Hiroto Shimazu, 18, says he hopes to make a difference by voting in Sunday's Upper House election in an interview in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on June 29. |

TOMOHIRO OSAKI / |

Young voters hope to reform Japan’s ‘silver democracy’

by and Staff Writers   Article histor

In the 2014 Lower House election, voter turnout for people aged in their 20s was a mere 32.6 percent, far lower than the overall turnout of 52.7 percent. In contrast, the rate for those in their 60s was 68.3 percent while 59.5 percent of voters in the 70s cast votes. According to the Nippon Institute for Research Advancement, 47 percent of voters who voted in the 2010 Upper House election were 60 or older. In a 2012 research paper, NIRA warned that the “silver democracy” will result in heavier burdens on younger generations as politicians cater to the demands of elderly voters wanting more social welfare benefits, such as a strong public pension system. This trend — allocating bigger budgets for welfare measures for the elderly and giving far less financial assistance to families with children — has often been criticized. A 2015 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development pointed out that spending on pension, medical and public nursing services — all of which mainly benefit elderly people — accounted for more than 80 percent of Japan’s total public social expenditure. In contrast, Japan’s spending on child care and after-school care to gross domestic product was only a third of that in Britain and Sweden, the OECD said, urging Tokyo to spend more to boost its low birthrate. “I kind of understand why politicians tend to prioritize the needs of the elderly over ours,” Shimazu said. “After all, older generations have a much stronger presence than us both demographically and in terms of voter turnout.” But given Japan’s rapidly aging society and depopulation trend, costs for social spending will increase over time for future generations. A 2012 NIRA simulation found that babies born in 2015 will be forced to pay 48.4 percent of their total lifetime income, including benefits from the public welfare system, as taxes and public welfare insurance premiums to support older generations. This figure is only 13.5 percent for those now in their 30s, while those aged 85 or older now receive more benefits than they paid over their working lives, according to the NIRA study.

The simulation was conducted under the assumption that the government would raise the consumption tax from 5 to 8 percent in April 2014, and to 10 percent in October 2015 as planned. But with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe postponing the second stage of the tax hike to October 2019, that scenario will only become worse for younger workers. The repercussions of this, however, doesn’t appear to be resonating with apathetic young voters.

In the first local election after the voting age was lowered — to elect the mayor of Ukiha, Fukuoka Prefecture, earlier this month — voter turnout among 18- and 19-year-olds was 38.4 percent, much lower than the overall turnout of 56.1 percent. The result only fueled concerns over whether young people would seek to cast ballots on Sunday. Miku Endo, 19, a university student and member of Tokyo-based citizens’ group Youth Create, urged young people to take advantage of the latest electoral reform. Endo’s interest in politics grew after she learned how small her future pension benefits will be compared to what today’s elderly can claim. “I don’t even know what to do, I feel helpless,” she said. “It just hit me how little the government cares about young people like us.”

 

/ |

Teachers say Japan’s young voters need to have political awareness nurtured in schools

                                           by   Staff Writer Article history          

Shigeo Kodama, a professor of education at the University of Tokyo, said the taboo originally functioned to keep certain ideologies from manifesting themselves in school education. From the late 1950s to 1970s, the Japan Teachers’ Union (Nikkyoso), which was a strong supporter of opposition parties and mainly leftist-leaning, staged strikes to fight the conservative government’s education policies, particularly the textbook screenings and rating system for teachers. To prevent ideological confrontations, schools gave short shrift to political issues, Kodama said. Also, university student movements in the 1960s against issues such as Japan’s security alliance with the United States were rife, later spreading to high school students, with some setting up barricades to close schools in protest. In response to those events, in 1969, the education ministry issued guidelines banning high school students from engaging in political activities. “With the guidelines, politics were put on a par with alcohol and tobacco,” Kodama said. Rather than cultivating students’ social awareness, schools put weight on nurturing their ability to pass high school and university entrance exams, though that focus has been changing slowly in the past two decades, he said. One recent change was the education ministry’s scrapping of the 1969 guidelines last year, lifting the longtime ban on political activities by high school students. “Schools avoided exposing young people to politics for a long time,” Kodama said. “Considering that, it’s not something that can be changed overnight. “Japan is still struggling to transform the educational system it adopted during the period of rapid economic growth (between the 1950s and 1970s),” Kodama said. One lingering concern is that educators are still refraining from raising political issues in class due to fears of violating neutrality. But teachers need to understand, Kodama said, that ensuring political neutrality means teaching students about both sides of contentious issues, and explaining why political parties are fighting over them. “Otherwise students may never understand,” Kodama said. “The teacher’s role is to fully explain a current situation without taking sides, and to think together with students.” Shigeo Kawaguchi, a social studies teacher at Denen Chofu Gakuen High School, agreed, saying teachers must provide students with many different points of view on current political issues.

He attempted to stimulate students think about such issues by introducing several newspaper articles in his classes. He has also shown a placard used in a rally to oppose the security legislation to expand the scope of overseas operations of the Self-Defense Forces. Kawaguchi was among the participants in the rally . “I don’t think I’m violating political neutrality,” Kawaguchi said. “I’m showing them that adults should have opinions on (political issues).

“I believe children won’t form political opinions unless teachers say what they think,” he said. “I always tell students it is OK to have different opinions from mine.” Shiori Ito, 16, one of Kawaguchi’s students, said his introduction to current political issues helped deepen her understanding of what was going on in society. “I think it has given me the chance to gain more knowledge about society,” said Ito, a second-year student who will be speaking in the United States this summer about the voting age change on a travel-abroad program. Although Ito is not eligible to vote in Sunday’s election, she welcomed the change. “It is a great opportunity for society to hear the voices of teenagers. We could change society.” Kawaguchi also said it is important for adults to discuss social issues to cultivate political awareness among young students. “Their parents and their grandparents need to discuss politics in front of them,” Kawaguchi said. “But sadly, many don’t.”

 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Sadakazu Tanigaki place flowers next to the names of winning candidates in the Upper House election Sunday night at LDP headquarters in Tokyo. | YOSHIAKI MIURA /

LDP-led ruling bloc, allies clear two-thirds majority hurdle in Upper House poll

                                                     Opposition gambit fails to halt coalition juggernaut; charter in limb by Staff Writer Article history           

The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition scored a sweeping victory in the Upper House election Sunday that gave the Diet’s pro-revision forces the two-thirds majority needed to initiate Japan’s first constitutional referendum, final results showed Monday morning. Four parties in favor of constitutional revision, including the LDP-Komeito ruling bloc, won a combined 76 seats, adding to the current 88 held by pro-amendment forces in the uncontested half of the 242-seat Upper House. Sunday’s election will increase the grand total of pro-revision forces in the Upper House to a supermajority of 164, a critical benchmark that will bring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a huge step forward toward his longtime goal of amending the Constitution.

Kyodo News reported that, in response to Sunday’s poll results, Abe is planning a full-fledged reshuffle of his Cabinet as early as August. Katsuya Okada, head of the main opposition force, the Democratic Party, said on a TBS TV program that it is “regrettable” that the opposition camp was unable to prevent the pro-amendment supermajority. “We couldn’t appeal to enough voters,” Okada said. Voter turnout was estimated at 54.7 percent, higher than the 52.61 percent in the previous Upper House election, held in 2013, but the fourth-lowest for an Upper House election, Kyodo estimated. According to the results, the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition won a combined 69 seats, achieving Abe’s declared goal of a simple majority of 61 seats, bolstering the bloc’s stability. The Democratic Party meanwhile ended up with 49 seats, falling from its pre-election strength of 60, while the Japanese Communist Party and Osaka Ishin no Kai increased their seat counts. “I’m relieved that we appear to have cleared our goal,” Abe said on a TV program Sunday night.

On constitutional revision, Abe said Diet panels on the Constitution will decide how the charter should be revised, adding the issue will be put to a referendum afterward. “The LDP has called for constitutional revision. But at the same time, neither the LDP nor the LDP-Komeito coalition has secured a two-thirds majority,” Abe said earlier. A Diet supermajority would allow Abe to launch a referendum on revising the war-renouncing Constitution, which hasn’t been altered since it was adopted 69 years ago. The LDP and Komeito already have a supermajority in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet. Abe has stated that it is his personal ambition to revise the national charter before his tenure ends in September 2018. Nationalists regard the Constitution as a humiliating holdover from Japan’s defeat in WWII, particularly the war-renouncing Article 9. But some political experts doubt Abe will try to take on Article 9. Opinion polls suggest the public remains divided on the issue. Despite Abe’s exhortations, LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura insisted Tuesday that there was “zero possibility” of Article 9 being amended even if the pro-revisionists acquire the supermajority. Instead, observers expect Abe to focus on establishing what is known as an “emergency situations clause,” which would allow the Cabinet to impose a state of emergency to protect people’s lives and assets during natural disasters and other situations. Calls emerged for such a clause after the March 2011 quake and tsunami. A strong showing by the LDP also allows Abe to claim public approval for Abenomics, his feeble growth policy launched in 2012 based on the “three arrows” of radical monetary easing, fiscal spending and structural reform. The LDP’s campaign strategy focused heavily on repeating that Abenomics is shoring up the economy, though Abe admitted in June that the recovery was only “halfway” complete. This came as he again postponed the second stage of the consumption tax hike. After the election is over, the government is expected to explain how it will account for the revenue shortfall as the public debt climbs. A strong victory would also leave the opposition parties in disarray again. The DP, Japanese Communist Party, Social Democratic Party and Seikatsu no To (People’s Life Party) agreed on a rare electoral tie-up to prevent the ruling bloc from sweeping the chamber. “Our power to reach out to the people was weak. It’s unfortunate,” said DP leader Okada, who criticized Abe for shifting the focus of the election away from the Constitution. The DP said its primary goal was to prevent Abe’s camp from gaining a supermajority because that would lead to a fundamental shift in Japan’s postwar diplomacy. Okada said, however, regardless of whether the pro-constitutional revision forces have a two-third majority it all depends on what revisions Abe is aiming for. For example, Okada underscored Osaka Ishin’s position that it is not necessary to amend Article 9 immediately.

The four opposition parties fielded joint candidates in all 32 single-member constituencies to maximize their chances. Their failure may cause two things to happen: It might trigger calls for Okada to resign, and it might make the opposition parties reluctant to engage in such tie-ups in the future. Late on Sunday, Okada said he would stay on as DP leader until his tenure expires in September. He said he has not decided whether to run in the next DP leadership race. He also said the election tie-up with the other opposition parties allowed a variety of people to help out during the campaign. “We need to expand on this,” he said. Sunday’s election was also a historic moment for the nation’s 18- and 19-year-olds, who voted for the first time.

Information from Kyodo added

Breakdown of seats secured
Party Total won Uncontested Total strength
LDP 55 65 120 (115)
DP 32 17 49 (60)
Komeito 14 11 25 (20)
JCP 6 8 14 (11)
Osaka Ishin 7 5 12 (7)
SDP 1 1 2 (3)
Seikatsu no To 1 1 2 (3)
Kokoro 0 3 3 (3)
Shinto Kaikaku 0 0 0 (1)
Other 5 10 15 (18)
Total 121 121 242 (241*)
                       (Pre-election strength)     *One vacant

                                   Study of English Words 英語の勉強 (11) - (し)-2

 

就業規則            Labor regulations　

宗教の自由      　freedom of religion / religious freedom 宗教法人   religious corporation

住居面積            living space

シュークリーム   cream puff

従軍記者            war correspondent

就職　               employment / job ( 動) find［get］a job

                        就職斡旋　job placement 就職活動　job-hunting activity

                        就職協定　recruting agreement between colleges and companies

                        就職試験　examination for employment

                        就職戦線　job market / job-hunting season［campaign］

                        就職難   job scarcity［shortage］

終身　               life / lifetime

                        終身刑　life sentence ［imprisonment］

                        終身雇用　lifelong [lifetime] employment 終身年金　life annuity［pension］

                        終身保険   whole life insuranse

修正案　            draft amendment［revision］

修正液　            correction fluid / cover-up liquid　

十代の売春         teenage prostitution

住宅　               house / home / housing

                        住宅供給公社　prefectural［municipal］housing corporation

                        住宅金融公庫　(the) Housing Loan Corporation

                        住宅金融支援機構　Japan Housing Finance Agency

                        住宅公団　(the) Japan Housing Corporation 住宅助成金　housing subsidy

                        住宅着工件数　housing starts 住宅手当　housing allowance

                        住宅難［不足］housing shortage［trouble］

                        住宅ローン　housing loan / mortgage payment

                        住宅ローン残高   balance of housing loans

集団　               group / mass (形) collective

                        集団安全保障　collective security 集団帰属意識　group consciousness

                        集団自殺　mass suicide 集団就職　mass employment

                        集団食中毒　mass food poisoning 集団訴訟　class action

                        集団的自衛権　right to collective defence

                        集団見合い　collective interview for marriage 集団療法   group therapy

集中豪雨　         concentrated downpour［heavy rain］/ localized torrential downpour 

集中治療室         intensive care unit ［ICU］

収入印紙            revenue stamp　

宗派　               denomination / sect 宗派紛争   sectarian strife

秋分の日            Autumnal Equinox Day  ※春分の日   Spring Equinox Day

周辺防衛            peripheral defense

周辺有事［日本］emergency in areas surrounding Japan  

住民　               resident / inhabitant

                        住民基本台帳ネットワーク　nationwide［national］resident registry network

                        住民税　resident tax 住民登録　resident registration

                        住民投票　local referendum / inhabitants’ voting ［poll］

                        住民票コード  resident identification number / resident register code number

集約農業　         intensive agriculture

周遊券               excursion ticket (割引の) / round-trip [circular tour] ticket (回遊の)

周遊観光船　      sightseeing boat / tour boat / sightseeing-tour ship

収容所　            house of refugee (難民・貧民の) / concentration camp (政治犯などの)　

重要（な）　      important / essential / vital

                        重要文化財　important cultural property［assets］

                        重要無形文化財　intangible important cultural property ［assets］

                        重要参考人   material witness

収賄　               bribery

                        収賄事件　bribery scandal (醜聞) / bribery case (刑事事件)

                        収賄者　briber / bribe-taker / taker of bribes

授業参観日　      open day / open house　

塾                     cram school (attended after regular school hours)

熟年　               old folks / matured age 熟年離婚   divorce of a middle-aged couple

受験産業　         entrance exam industry 受験地獄   entrance exam hell［ordeal］

取材競争　         competition in coverage 取材源   news source

主食                  staple food

受信人　            addressee / recipient 発信人　addresser

受信料　            listening fee (for NHK) / subscription fee / television reception fees

                        受信料不払い   refusal to pay (NHK TV) reception fees 

出血　                bleeding 内出血　internal bleeding 出血サービス　giveaway price

                         出血セール   sacrifice sale / distress selling

出向　                temporary transfer 出向社員   loaned worker / seconded staff

出国手続き　       departure formalities 入国手続き   entry formalities

出産休暇　          maternity leave 出産適齢期   child-bearing age

出世コース　       promotional track

出世届                birth registration［notification］出生率の急激低下 baby bust

出張旅費             travel expence

出入国管理局　    Immigration Bureau 出入国管理法   Immigration Control Act

                         出入国手続き　immigration procedures / government formalities  

出馬資格             entry qualification / qualification for entry

首都　                capital (city) 首都機能移転　relocation of the capital

                         首都高速道路 Metropolitan Expressway

受動喫煙             passive smoking

首脳会議　          executive meeting 首脳会談　summit meeting / leader's conference

                         日米首脳会談 Japan-U.S. leaders' conference / summit meeting between 

                         Japan and America 主要国   major power

需要と供給          supply and demand

主要銘柄             selected stock / leading issue

循環型社会          recycling-oriented society 

巡航ミサイル       cruise missile

春闘                   annual spring labor offensive / annual spring wage-increase offensive

春分の日             Spring Equinox Day  ※　秋分の日　Autumnal Equinox Day

順法スト　          slowdown strike 順法闘争   work-to-rule struggle ［strike］

省エネ　　　　　 energy-saving/ energy conservation　

生涯教育［学習］ lifelong education [learning]

障害者控除　       deduction for physically-handicapped [disabled] persons

                         障害年金　disability [invalidity] pension　

場外馬券売り場　 off-track [off-course] setting office

場外ホームラン　 out-of-the-park homer

奨学金                scholarship / fellowship

消火剤                digestive

焼却炉                incinerator / cremator

将軍                   general / tycoon / generalissimo

証券　                securities (有価証券) / stock / bond / bill (of exchange)

                         証券会社　securities company / brokerage 

                         証券市場　stock market 証券取引所　stock exchange

                         証券化   securitization 上場株   listed stock [share]

証拠いん滅          destruction of evidence

少子化　             declining [decreasing, falling] birthrate/ continued drop in birthrate

                         少子化社会　society with a low bithrate

                         少子高齢化   declining birthrate combined with the aging population

常習犯                recidivist / hardened offender [criminal]

召集令状　          draft card

昇進　                promotion 降格　demotion 　　　

浄水器　             water purifier [cleaner]

少数民族　          ethnic minority / minority race

使用済み核燃料    spent nuclear fuel

小選挙区（制）    single-seat [single-representative] constituency (system)

肖像権　             right of portrait / right to one's portrait

醸造酒　　　　　 fermented beverage / brewed alcoholic beverage

招致国                host country

省庁                   ministries and agencies

衝動　                impulse / urge

                         衝動買い　impulse buying / buying on impulse

                         衝動買いする人　impulse buyer

                         衝動殺人   murder on impulse / murder on the spur of the moment

上棟式                roof-raising ceremony

小児科　             pediatrics 小児まひ   infantile paralysis / polio

証人尋問             summons / cross-examination of a witness

常任理事国          permanent member of the U.N. Security Council

少年　                juvenile

                         少年院　reform school / reformatory / juvenile training school

                         少年鑑別所　juvenile classification home / detention park

                         少年審判　juvenile justice / juvenile proceedings 少年犯罪　juvenile crimes

                         少年非行　juvenile delinquency 少年非行者   juvenile delinquent

消費　                consumption / expenditure / spending

                         消費税　consumption tax 消費者   consumer

                         消費運動　consumer movement [campaign] / consumerism

                         消費者金融　consumer credit [financing]

                         消費者物価指数　consumer price index [CP]

                         消費者向け電子取引   buisiness-to-consumer electronic commerce / B-to-C

                         e-commerce

商品券　             gift certificate / merchandise coupon [bond] 

正札　                price tag 正札値段   sticker price

商法                   commercial code [law]

消防　                fire fighting 消防隊　fire brigade 消防団   fire-fighting team

情報　                information / intelligence

                         情報化社会　information-intensive [information-oriented] society

                         情報過多　information overload / overabundance of information

                         情報機関　intelligence service 情報公開　disclosure of information

                         情報公開法　information disclosure law / (米) Freedom of Information Act   

                         情報処理　information processing 情報網　intelligence network

                         情報漏洩   leak of information

賞味期間             best-before date [period] / eat-by date

正面衝突　          head-on collision / head-on car crash (動) collide [crash] on-head

常用漢字　          Chinese characters for daily use / Chinese characters in common use

蒸留水                distillied water

常緑樹                evergreen 落葉樹　diciduous tree 

常連　                regular customer / regular visitor 

食育                   dietary education

職業　                occupation / job/ career / profession

                         職業安定所　employment security office / job placement office

                         職業病　occupation disease / job-related disease

                         職業別電話帳   classified telephone directory / Yellow Pages

嘱託                   temporary employee / non-regular [part-time] employee / employee

                         on a short-term contract

食中毒　　　　　  food poisoning

職人気質　          artisan spirit 職人芸　skill of an artisan 職能組合   craft union

食品　                food / foodstuff

                         缶詰食品　canned foods インスタント食品　instant foodstuffs

                         食品衛生　food hygene 食品賞味期限　expiration date for food

                         食品添加物　food additive 食品表示　food label 食品防腐剤　food antiseptic

                         食品リサイクル法 food recycling law

                         食品安全委員会　Food Safety Commission　

植物　                plant / vegetable

                         植物検疫　plant quarantine

                         植物状態 vegetarian state / state of vegetation 植物繊維　vegetable fiber

                         植物人間　comatose patient /vegetable 植物園   botanical garden

職務　                duty / job / function 職務権限　job functions [competence] / purview of

                         authority 職務怠慢   negligence of duty

食物　                food / foodstuff

                         食物アレルギー　food allergy 食物繊維　dietary fiber

                         食物連鎖　food chain 食用油　edible oil / cooking [food] oil

                         食糧不足   food shortage

叙勲者　             recipient of an order

助産婦                midwife

初診料                first [initial] visit fee

女性差別　          gender discrimination

所得　                income / earnings

                         所得格差　income differential / gap [disparity] in income levels

                         所得控除　deduction from incom 所得税　income tax

                         所得税申告 income tax return 所得倍増政策　income-doubling policy

初任給                starting salary [pay] / initial wage [pay]

処方箋　             prescription

署名運動　          signature-collecting campaign 署名記事   signed article / byline

除夜の鐘             bell speeding [ringing] the old year

書類選考　          applicant screening

しらす                baby sardine

自律神経失調症    automatic imbalance [ataxia]

シルバーシート　 priority seat / seat reserved for senior citizens / seats reserved for the aged

                         and disabled on trains and buses

白タク　             unlicensed taxi

白バイ警官          motorcycle policeman / speedcop

人員　                personnel / staff

                         人員削除　personnel downsizing / job cuts

                         人員整理　personnel retrenchment / workforce reduction / employment

                         adjustment 人員配置　staff assignment

人海戦術             human-wave tactics [sweep]

震央　                epicenter (of an eathquake) / seismic center　

進学塾　              cram school 進学率  rate of students receiving higher education

進化論                 revolution theory

新規株式公開        initial public offering [IPO]

心筋梗塞　           heart attack / myocardial [cardiac] infarction

真空パック　        vacuum package / vacuum packaging [packing]

神経衰弱　           nervous breakdown (depresion)

人権侵害              violation of human rights / human rights abuse

震源地                 hypocenter [of an earthquake] / seismic center

人件費　              personnel cost [expenses] / payroll cost

人口　                 population

                         人口過疎地　thinly [sparsely] populated areas

                         人口過密地　densely populated areas

                         人口調査　census / population [demographic] survey

                         人口密度　population densit 人口流出   population drain 　

人工（の）　        artificial / man-made / mechanical  ※自然の  natural

                         人工遺伝子　artificial gene 人工衛星　artificial [man-made] satellite

                         人工栄養　artificial nourishment 人工甘味料 artificial sweetner

                         人工呼吸　artificial respiration

                         人工授精　artificial insemination (動物) / artificial fertilization (動植物)

                         人工植毛　hair implant 人工心臓　artificial [mechanical] heart 

                         人工頭脳　artificial [mechanical] brain

                         人工孵化　artificial incubation [breeding] 人工惑星   artificial planet

新興工業国           newly industrializing countries (NICs)　

新興宗教              new religious cult / newly-risen religion

信号無視   　　　  running a red light

申告納税　           tax payment by self-assessment

                          申告漏れ   undeclared income / unreported earnings

人材　                 well-qualified [talented] person

                         人材銀行　bank of human resources / talent bank

                         人材スカウト　head hunting (行為) / head hunter (人物)

                         人材派遣会社   temporary employment agency / manpower supply company

診察　                 diagnosis / (medical) examination 診察券   hospital card / consultation card

人事　                 personnel affairs

                         人事異動　personnel reshuffle [relocation] / personnel transfers

                         人事院　(the) National Personnnel Authority [NPA]

                         人事管理 personnel management 人事交流　personnel exchanges

                         人事評価   personnel evaluation

人種　                 race / ethnicity (民族) / (形) racial / ethnic

                         人種差別　racial discrimination [segregation] / racism

                         人種浄化　ethnic cleansing 人種偏見　racial prejudice [bias]

                         人種のるつぼ   melting pot (of races)

新春歌会始           New Year's Imperial Poetry Party

身障者                 physically disabled person / the physically disabled (総称)

紳士録                 who's who / blue book

心身症                 psychosomatic disorder

新人類　              new breed［generation] of humans

神前結婚式           Shinto-style wedding / wedding according to Shinto rites

親善試合              friendly match［game］/ frindship game

心臓　                 heart (形) cardiac

                          心臓移植　heart transplant 心臓病　heart [cardiac] disease

                          心臓ペースメーカー　cardiac pasemaker

                          心臓麻痺   heart attack［failure］心不全 cardiac arrest / heart failure

腎臓　                 kidney 腎臓移植　kidney transplant 腎臓透析　kidney dialysis

                          腎臓病 kidney disease

新体操                 rhythmic gymnastics

診断　                 diagonosis 診断書   medical certificate

人的資本              human capital

震度                    seismic intensity / intensity of an earthquake

人道的援助           humanitarian aid

シンナー吸引        glue-sniffing

侵入                    invasion / intrusion

信任投票              vote of confidence

塵（じん）肺　     pneumoconiosis  

信販会社              credit sales firm

新婦　                 bride 新郎   bridegroom

新風俗営業法        New Entertainment Business Control Law

新聞　                 newspaper / press 新聞検閲　press censorship 新聞配達少年　newspaper

                          delivery boy 新聞販売店　newspaper delivery agent 新聞用語   journalese

蕁（じん）麻疹   　hives / nettle rash　

人脈                     web of personnel connections

深夜（の）　         late-night (副) late at night / at midnight

                           深夜番組　late-night program / midnight show

                           深夜労働　mid-night work［labor］深夜割り増し   late-night premium

信用　                  credit / credibility / trust / confidence

                           信用貸し loan on credit / credit loan 信用金庫   credit association

                           信用筋　authoritative [reliable] sources

                           信用取引   sale on credit / credit transaction

人力車                   rickshaw / man-pulling cart

侵略　                   aggression / incursion / invasion 侵略戦争　war of aggression

診察                      medical examination［care, treatment］

心理療法　             psychotherapy

森林伐採                deforestation

心霊治療                psychic healing   

進路指導　             counseling [guidance] on choice of college［high school］

 

                                                                                          (8/14)(8/5)(7/29)(7/19)(7/6)

                                                                                                 Back to Page of Contents