playground (for children); park
foreign-owned enterprise; company with capital participation by a foreign company; foreign-affiliated firm; alien corporation; foreign company
unique type; one of a kind
leading product; flagship product; top product
to be outdone (by); to be in inferior (to); to compare unfavorably (with); to be behind
living thing; living creature; animal; life
to become hungry; to get an empty stomach
(for the taste of something) to become apparent; (for someone's character) to come out
sampling a drink; tasting
screening meeting; trial meeting; qualifying competition
new graduate; recent graduate
hot taste; sharp taste; pungent taste; salty taste
newsworthiness; news hook; topicality; popularity (of a topic, issue, etc.)
traditional; from ancient times; formerly
and yet; despite this; but even so; but even then; however; nevertheless
fish-shaped pancake filled with bean jam
extremely spicy; fiery hot; extremely harsh (criticism, review, etc.); scathing
another company; other company
complete change; reform; restoration; remodeling; remodelling; renewal
bout (in sports, etc.); match; effort; initiative; dealing with
lubricating oil; lubricant; lube; person or thing that makes things run smoothly; facilitator
all companies; each company
filling (up) a hole; filling in (for a gap, vacancy, etc.); stopgap; making up (for a loss, damage, etc.); covering (a deficit); cloze deletion (test format)
deplorable; regrettable; disappointing; vexing; unfortunate
stale; old fashioned; hackneyed; trite; antiquated; obsolete
your company; your shrine
thickly; heavily; richly; severely; strongly
type; pattern; model; epitome; exemplar; archetype
fingernail mark; scratch; scars (e.g. of war); traces (of damage); ravages
to sprinkle over (e.g. salt, pepper, etc. on food)
no matter what it takes; by any means necessary; at all costs; by hook or by crook
promotion; acceleration; encouragement; facilitation; spurring on
large company; large enterprise; large corporation
to win through (e.g. to the next round); to win game after game; to achieve a final victory; to fight to the end and win; to come out on top
as a child; when one was a child; childhood
to feel uplifted; to be cheered up; to hearten; to be inspired; to be energized
defeating in an instant; instant kill
laughing at an inappropriate time; not being able to hold back one's laughter; scornful laughter; snicker; snigger
joining a company; getting a job with a company; entering a company
to become misty; to become hazy; to get blurry; to grow dim; to be overshadowed; to be upstaged
Kansai; region consisting of Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and surrounding prefectures; Kansai; south-western half of Japan (during the feudal era)