economic boom created by the Tokyo Olympic Games (1962-1964)
head wind; adverse wind; opposition; objection; dissension
having no end tiles or honor tiles and pinfu (common pair of melds)
airsoft (war game using air guns firing plastic pellets)
to be valuable as scrap; to be able to do other work; to have marketable skills
mahjong gambling; playing mahjong for money
Chinese-style fried chicken topped with chopped scallions and sweet vinegar and soy sauce
win worth 12000 points (or, if dealer, 18000 points)
tenacity of weeds; stubbornness of weeds; die hard spirit
Ursa Major (constellation)
schadenfreude; pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others
cruel and heartless; merciless; implacable; cold-blooded
distrust of politics; political uncertainty
Cabinet Information Research Office
authentication code; authenticator
tenpai; fishing (i.e. needing one more tile for completion)
retail price; street price
strapping Kyushu lad; virile son of Kyushu
non career (i.e. civil servants not on track for high-ranking positions)
helping a long-term employee to establish a branch of the same shop
to ask for money; to put the touch on someone
multi-unit apartments; apartment complex