How many words are in this list?

This page gives 100 Japanese words on “Society and politics”. The full topic holds 178 in the KoKo app: 71 at the easy level, 62 at the medium level and 45 at the hard level.

Which words should I start with?

With level 1: these are the easiest words of the topic. Move on to level 2 once they come to you without thinking, then to level 3.

How can I remember this Japanese vocabulary?

By seeing each word again at longer and longer intervals, just before you forget it: that is spaced repetition. The KoKo app does it for you and tells you each day which words to review.

Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?

Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

Japanese vocabulary: politics and society

Government, elections, rights, debates: the Japanese words for talking about society and politics.

Here are 100 Japanese words on “Society and politics”, translated into English and sorted from easiest to hardest.

Level 1: easy 40 words

Japanese	English
軍隊	army
攻撃	attack
戦闘	battle
国境	border
選挙運動	campaign
候補者	candidate
教会	church
公職	civil service
市民社会	civil society
評議会	council
国	countryAn inhabited territory, in the geographical sense
敗戦	defeat
民主主義	democracy
欧州連合	European Union
表現の自由	freedom of speech
政府	government
人権	human rights
公約	manifesto
市長	mayor
兵役	military service
省	ministry
基礎自治体	municipality
野党	opposition
議会	parliament
平和	peace
政治	politics
大統領	president
首相	prime minister
改革	reform
宗教	religion
共和国	republic
抵抗運動	resistance
社会正義	social justice
演説	speech
国家	stateThe political institution that holds sovereign power
任期	term of office
条約	treaty
投票	vote
選挙権	voting right
武器	weapon

Level 2: medium 35 words

Japanese	English
同盟	alliance
信念	belief
資本主義	capitalism
市民	citizen
植民地化	colonisation
選挙区	constituency
不正腐敗	corruption
弾圧	crackdown
抗議行動	demonstration
独裁	dictatorship
解散	dissolution
大使館	embassy
排除	exclusion
大量虐殺	genocide
環境政治	green politics
人質	hostage
移民	immigration
制度	institution
国際制裁	international sanction
侵攻	invasion
司法権	judicial power
君主制	monarchy
占領	occupation
平和条約	peace treaty
請願	petition
祈り	prayer
知事	prefect
醜聞	scandal
上院	senate
上院議員	senator
階層移動	social mobility
兵士	soldier
主権	sovereignty
テロ攻撃	terrorist attack
投票率	turnout

Level 3: hard 25 words

Japanese	English
棄権	abstention
社会運動	activism
投票箱	ballot box
停戦	ceasefire
市民的不服従	civil disobedience
共産主義	communism
脱植民地化	decolonisation
外交	diplomacy
過激主義	extremism
男女同数	gender parity
立法権	legislative power
圧力団体	lobby
多文化主義	multiculturalism
不信任案	no confidence motion
候補者指名	nomination
記載台	polling booth
自決権	self determination
討論する	to debate
権利を要求する	to demand as a right
統治する	to govern
入党する	to join a party
批准する	to ratify
改革する	to reform
普通選挙	universal suffrage
戦争難民	war refugee

Mini quiz

5 words from this page, picked at random. Find their translation.

Frequently asked questions

How many words are in this list?: This page gives 100 Japanese words on “Society and politics”. The full topic holds 178 in the KoKo app: 71 at the easy level, 62 at the medium level and 45 at the hard level.
Which words should I start with?: With level 1: these are the easiest words of the topic. Move on to level 2 once they come to you without thinking, then to level 3.
How can I remember this Japanese vocabulary?: By seeing each word again at longer and longer intervals, just before you forget it: that is spaced repetition. The KoKo app does it for you and tells you each day which words to review.
Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?: Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

How KoKo makes words stick

These lists come from KoKo, the app to learn Japanese vocabulary on iPhone.