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課題１ NATIONAL / POLITICS
よくよく考える：mull
政権を持つ（運営する）：run the goverment
〜に対抗する：challenge
党大会：convention
（政策を）かかげる：tout
参議院：the House of Councillors
Opposition parties mull cooperation
Four opposition parties, which do not run the government -- the Democratic party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party -- are holding atlks to consider working together in the next House of Representatives election.
In the lower house, the ruling parties, which run the government -- the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito -- hold more than two-thirds of the seats. The four parties cooperated in the House of Councillors election held last year. They want to cooperate again to challenge the ruling parties in the next lower house election.
Top officials of the DP, LP and SDP joined together for the first time at a JCP convention that started on Jan. 15. Their aim was to show that they are willing to move forward cooperation.
However, some of the policies among the opposition parties differ. It will be difficult to cooperate if their policies run in all directions, and that is why officials in charge of the four parties are holding talks about the policies they want to tout in the election.
課題２ LIFE
名前、あだ名：moniker
（記事のために）集める：compiled
回答者：respondent
頂上に：atop
ネコ科の：feline
Japan’s top 10 cat names so far for 2017
There are a lot of responsibilities with welcoming a new pet into your home. Not only will you need to give it the love and attention it requires for a happy, healthy life, your animal companion will also be dependent on you to provide it with a name.
To help with that last task, Japanese Internet portal Iris Pet has released its newest list of the most popular cat names in Japan, compiled from responses from 1,671 cat owners. Just like with human names, kitty moniker trends change over time, so let’s take a look at how things have changed since last year for the overall rankings.
● Top ten overall cat names
10 (tie). Tama (“Ball”)
10 (tie). Tora (“Tiger”)
10 (tie). Mii
10 (tie). Rin
10 (tie). Reo (“Leo”)
9. Fuku (“Lucky”)
8. Hime (“Princess”)
7. Mike (“Tortoiseshell”)
4 (tie). Chibi (“Tiny”)
4 (tie). Hana (“Flower”)
4 (tie). Momo (“Peach”)
2 (tie). Kuro (“Black”)
2 (tie). Nana
1. Koko
Last year’s overall most popular name, Momo, still ended up as one of the survey respondents’ favorites in 2017. However, in the end, it was Koko that finished atop the list, reportedly thanks to its associations with the similarly pronounced “cocoa,” “coconut,” and fashion designer Coco Chanel.
In 12 months’ time, we’ll likely see these ranking get shaken up again, but for right now, they’re the top dogs, or cats, actually, of Japan’s feline pet community.
