doldrums
昨年逮捕された外国人の99%は不法滞在者だったことが判明しました。記事はThe Japan Timesからになります。
doldrumsを取り上げます。文中では第二語義の「（商売などの）停滞状態[期間]」（『ジーニアス英和辞典 第３版』大修館）となります。LDOCEも確認してみますと’ if an industry, company, activity etc is in the doldrums, it is not doing well or developing’と定義されていました。(Shou-VR*)
90% of foreigners arrested last year were legal residents
Illegals accounted for only a small portion, crime white paper says
Of the 5,423 foreigners arrested last year for committing crimes, more than 90 percent of them were living in the country legally, while illegal immigrants accounted for just 5.9 percent of the cases, unlike in the past, according to government white paper on crime released Friday.
As of January, visa overstayers taken into custody had fallen to 62,009, the lowest figure in two decades. The government attributed the decline to tightened scrutiny at immigration points and Japan’s prolonged economic doldrums that served as a disincentive to stay in the country.
