The United States of America has a new president, and that means there’s more Japanese vocabulary and grammar in the news to learn.
When Joe Biden took the oath of office on Jan. 20, his translated remarks in the Japanese media provided an opportunity to discover a bevy of useful current events words, such as 国民 (kokumin, the people), 意志 (ishi, will) and 憲法 (kenpō, constitution).
“The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded,” said Biden, translated as: 国民の声が、国民の意志が響き渡り、そして国民の意志が尊重されました (Kokumin no koe ga, kokumin no ishi ga hibikiwatari, soshite kokumin no ishi ga sonchō saremashita). More literally, it reads: “The voice of the people, the will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been respected.”