to control; to take the lead in; to have under one's thumb
meeting; conference; session; assembly; council; convention
main force; chief object; mainline
approval; adoption (of a motion, bill, etc.); passage
old-fashioned; behind the times; out-of-date; antiquated
large country; major nation; great power; province of the highest rank (ritsuryo system)
at first; in the beginning; originally
being in charge (of an area of responsibility); being responsible (for a work role, etc.)
on and after; as from; hereafter; thereafter; since
British made; made in Britain
outward appearance; ostensible; public; official
demolition; taking down; dissolution (of an organization, company, etc.); breaking up; dissection (of a body); dismemberment
I'm told; is what I heard; is how it is, apparently; is what they said
member state of the European Union; EU country
to whisper; to murmur; to rumor; to rumour
to blame; to find fault with
10^8; 100,000,000; hundred million
prosperity; thriving; flourishing
century; era; of the century (e.g. fight of the century)
opening (in a game of go, chess, etc.); early stages; initial phase; outset
to manage a state; to govern a country
to look down on (someone); to make fun of; to put down; to treat with contempt; to underestimate
to abuse (verbally); to curse at; to shout abuse at; to speak ill of
how many years; how long; what year
to be smeared; to be covered
domination; rule; direction; management; control (e.g. over one's emotions); determining (e.g. one's fate)
important point; point to check; point not to miss; checkpoint
not a moment to waste; there is no time to lose; cannot wait any longer
to be inferior to; to be less good at; to fall behind
to take in one's hand; to pick up; to obtain
general election (of the lower house)
to talk to oneself; to mutter
switching over to; migration; transition
to take off one's hat to a person; to acknowledge another's superiority
to break; to smash; to defeat; to destroy; to eliminate
rough; careless; slovenly; slipshod; rude; impolite
diligent study; devoting oneself to one's studies
inspection; examination; checking