Spätburgunder (wine grape variety)
voluntary liquidation; voluntary closure (of business)
dicentra (Dicentra peregrina)
Leontopodium japonicum (species of perennial closely related to edelweiss)
diabetic retinopathy; retinopathia diabetica
in-home separation; quasi-divorce; marriage that has broken down but where the wife and husband still live together without getting a divorce
economic collapse; economic meltdown
Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Limited
to be valuable as scrap; to be able to do other work; to have marketable skills
withdrawal of loan credit (e.g. by a bank); retraction of credit; insistence on repayment
smoked daikon pickles (famous product of Akita Prefecture)
Christmas rose (Helleborus niger)
allowing oneself meat, fish or alcohol after a period of abstaining
aggregate amount of indebtedness
run-down shabby house; (arch.) rag and scrap merchant
lemon balm (Melissa officinalis); sweet balm
Konaki Jijii (a ghost in Japanese folklore with the shape of a small old man and having a baby's cry)
turning point; turnaround point (e.g. in a race); turning back point
customer base; constituency; customer segment; patron base; clientele
spirit of dedication to one's company
very auspicious day for all types of occasions (one of the six special days in the Japanese lunisolar calendar)
person who always wants to make a good impression; pretentious person
Tokyo Stock Exchange; TSE
inscrutable are the ways of heaven; fortune is unpredictable and changeable
traditional Japanese wedding ceremony (usu. at a shrine or temple)
visiting professor; guest professor
one never knows (what will happen); there's no telling (what the future holds)
changing (one's job, loyalties, stance, etc.); switching over; changing quarters (geisha, prostitute, etc.)
excessive supply; oversupply
in contrast to (one's, its) appearance
sycophant; apple-polisher; flatterer; sesame seed grinding
reopening after renovation