Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words collects those terms in actual present use, relating to current events, which are not fully covered by a dictionary of Japanese; specialist terms which may be too minor or particular to be found in a standard encyclopedia, with reliable definitions which may not be available on a search engine, in approximately 120 genres. The broad-ranging coverage of the encyclopedia encompasses culture, art, science, buzzwords, and trivia, in addition to specialized knowledge and basic words to give clear explanations of complex subjects such as Japanese international affairs, economics, politics, welfare, and administration.

The JapanKnowledge edition enables smooth navigation between entries, from main contents table to currently displayed entry via breadcrumb links, and entries from the same genre displayed on the main text screen, so there is no need for repeated searches. In addition, starting from 2023, instead of the "Advanced Search" that has been available up until now, you can now view the encyclopedia on "Bookshelf" to see an index for each year and jump to more detailed genres or the main text from there.

The JapanKnowledge edition contains the seven editions from 2019 to 2025. In addition to the familiar features of “New Word/Buzzword” and “News Review,” which supports a deeper understanding of topical news, there are also seven years’ worth of special feature columns available to view.