provincial city; provincial town; suburban city; regional towns and cities
to often be the case; to occur frequently; to be common; to be popular
talk; speech; topic; subject; discussions; negotiation; rumor
opening (of a new road, railway, etc.); going into operation (e.g. telephone communication); beginning services; reopening (e.g. a road to traffic); resumption of services
line; stripe; line (e.g. telephone line); wire; ray (e.g. X-ray); beam; line (e.g. of a railroad)
by means of; due to; because of; according to
rise and fall; ups and downs; welfare; vicissitudes
halving; dividing (into two parts); bisection; the two equinoxes (vernal and autumnal)
north-east; Tōhoku (northernmost six prefectures of Honshu); Tohoku
biggest; greatest; largest; maximum
town; city; municipal; urban
railway station; train station; staging post on a highway (in pre-modern Japan); counter for railway stations and bus stations
side (of something, or taking someone's side); part; (watch) case
development; exploitation
to advance; to go forward; to precede; to go ahead (of); to make progress; to improve; to deepen
agricultural land; farmland
designation; specification; assignment; appointment; pointing at
cancellation; rescinding; release; calling off; lifting (sanctions); delisting
as it is; as one likes; because; condition; state
increase; rise; growth; addition; increment
old; aged; long; since long ago; of the distant past; long-ago
housing district; residential district
to descend (e.g. a mountain); to go down; to alight (e.g. from bus); to get off; to step down; to retire; to be granted
one; for one thing; only; (not) even; just (e.g. "just try it"); some kind of; one type of
rather; sooner; preferably
to demolish; to tear down; to pull down
parking lot rented on a monthly basis
to finish; to stop; to close (a business, etc.); to close down; to put away; to put back
earnings; proceeds; returns; revenue
betterment; improvement; kaizen (Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement)
unfortunately; sorry, but ...
demolition; pulling down; destruction; dismantling
contriving (to raise funds, to find time, etc.); working out (a solution)
surplus; margin; leeway; composure; placidity; complacency
to be (of animate objects); to exist; to stay; to be ...-ing; to have been ...-ing
real estate tax; fixed assets tax; property tax; rates
(a) few; (a) little; trifling; insignificant; small (amount); scarce (stocks)
inside; within; while (e.g. one is young); during; among; amongst; in (secret, chaos, poverty, etc.)
leaving as is; leaving alone; leaving to chance; neglecting; abandoning
than; from; out of; except; but; more