半年の報告 はんとしのほうこく — The Half-Year Report

Reporting to the town council

Japanese town and village assemblies are small — often around ten members — and much of their scrutiny happens in standing committees, such as a general affairs committee (総務委員会). Officials and program staff are called to report and answer questions; the replies are called 答弁, the same word used in the national Diet. A formal report has a recognizable style: figures framed with において and に比べて, causes with により, and admissions of fault in fixed phrases — 申し訳ございませんでした, 再発防止策として. Questions from members can be sharp, especially about failures, and the minutes are often published online. The grammar of this lesson is the grammar of formal reporting: において, による, に比べて, にもかかわらず and ものがある.