Japanese

Noun

遠因 ‎(hiragana えんいん, romaji en'in)

1. indirect cause, distant cause, remote cause

   その事件 (じけん)は戦争 (せんそう)を引 (ひ)き起 (お)こす遠因 (えんいん)となった。

   Sono jiken wa sensō o hikiokosu en'in to natta.

   The incident turned out to be a distant cause of the war.

2. underlying cause