Easy Japanese news in translation: Eel shipping begins in Miyazaki Prefecture
Easy Japanese news is taken from the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a newspaper for children. This is perfect material for anyone studying Japanese who has learned hiragana and katakana. We encourage beginners to read the article in English followed by Japanese, or vice versa, to test their comprehension.
A fresh set will be published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m., Japan time. Click/tap here for past installments.
Intermediate learners who do not need English assistance can directly access the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun site here. Furigana (hiragana) is added to all kanji in the text.
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9 hours ago
Japan to Regularly Accept Assistant Language Teachers from India
News from Japan World Jul 26, 2025 15:42 (JST) New Delhi, July 26 (Jiji Press)--A send-off event was held at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday for 11 assistant language teachers and three international exchange coordinators who will be dispatched from India to Japan. This marks the first regular dispatch of assistant language teachers from India under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, a government initiative to promote international exchanges at the regional level. Only a few such personnel from India have participated in the program until now. The assistant teachers and coordinators will engage in English education and international exchange activities at schools and municipal offices in 11 prefectures across Japan for three years. Srishti Taneja, 24, will teach at elementary and junior high schools in the northern city of Otaru, Hokkaido. "I have received precious lessons and experiences from Japan and its people," she said in fluent Japanese. "Now, it is my turn to give back. I will do my best to support children in Japan." The start of the regular dispatch scheme is "a great step forward in grassroots exchanges between Japan and India and essential to further strengthen bilateral relations," Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Ono said. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
16 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Wartime child worker reveals dark secrets of Japan's 'Rabbit Island'
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) -- Okunoshima has become famous globally as Japan's Instagrammable "Rabbit Island," but little is known about its dark history as a host to a wartime poison gas factory and weapons plant. Today, people come to enjoy the picturesque views of the Seto Inland Sea from campgrounds and hiking trails in the Inland Sea National Park, with the island's charm and intriguing past making it a compelling subject for online content. Eighty years ago, the island hosted a secret poison gas factory that played a key role in Japan's illegal use of chemical weapons in occupied China. It was also a production site for the military's long-range, unmanned, incendiary "balloon bombs" that were used against the United States during World War II. Reiko Okada was mobilized to the island as a teenager for the war effort, helping the Imperial Japanese Army build balloon bombs known as "Fu-Go." Okada, now 95, is one of the few people still alive who has both a "gas notebook" for poison gas victims and an "A-bomb notebook" for survivors of the atomic bomb. Japan, which was a signatory to the Geneva Protocol of 1925 that prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons, produced mustard gas and other deadly chemical weapons on Okunoshima, at what was the largest poison gas factory in Asia. Okada was sent to Okunoshima as a 15-year-old third-year student at Tadanoumi Girls' High School in Takehara -- near the seaside Hiroshima Prefecture city located on the main island of Honshu -- in 1945. After the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, effectively bringing about Japan's defeat in World War II, she also worked as a relief worker in the suburbs of Hiroshima. In an interview, the former art teacher from Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, declared her willingness to tell the "last story of my life" and warned: "If we do not face up to our responsibility as perpetrators of the war, we will repeat the mistakes of the past." At the end of 1944, the government had proclaimed "ichioku gyokusai," translated literally as "100 million shattered jewels." The phrase served as the last unofficial rallying cry of the empire, expressing the regime's willingness to sacrifice the entire Japanese population, if necessary, to protect the fatherland. Whenever Okada, who was mobilized in November of the same year, heard these words, she stared fixedly at the surrounding waters and thought: "I don't want to die." The following summer, when Japan was bombed by U.S. air raids in various regions, Okada and the other girls were suddenly ordered to "evacuate" poison gas materials to a neighboring island. In the sweltering heat, the schoolgirls donned work gloves and transported the chemical barrels to a dock, making more than a dozen trips a day for over two weeks. Okada says she and the others were given strict instructions by the army not to reveal Okunoshima's location to family or friends. On Aug. 15, students gathered in a square on the island to listen to the "Jewel Voice Broadcast" in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender in a radio address. Then, for about two weeks from Aug. 18, she was involved in an A-bomb relief effort in a middle school auditorium in a suburb of Hiroshima. She says it was a horrific scene where people were dying every day. "It felt like a damp world of maggots crawling inside weakened bodies," she recalled. Okada, who had traveled to the city within two weeks of the bomb's detonation, was certified as a "hibakusha" -- atomic bomb survivor -- because she had entered the affected area shortly after the attack. Before that traumatizing period, she had spent time on the island in the weapons factory. There, she and her fellow students used a paste made from konnyaku root to build the unmanned, hydrogen-filled balloon bombs, which were 10 meters in diameter and made of Japanese washi paper. Carrying incendiary bombs and an advanced-for-its-time altitude control system, the balloons were able to ride the jet stream across the Pacific and reach North America. Between 1944 and 1945, more than 9,000 of these balloons were launched, mostly from three bases in Japan, and at least 300 are believed to have reached the U.S. mainland, where they caused wildfires but little other major damage. Okada realized her own culpability in the war, however, when she later learned that six people, including children, had been killed by a balloon bomb in western Oregon in May 1945 -- the only known casualties in the continental United States from an enemy attack during the war. After the war, Okada studied at a fine arts college run by Kyoto city. She returned to her hometown of Mihara, where she taught art at a local high school until her mid-50s, before devoting herself to painting privately and peace work. She suffered physical after-effects from her time in Hiroshima shortly after the bombing and from chronic bronchitis caused by her stint on Okunoshima. However, treatment allowed her to overcome her ailments. After the war, Okada also learned that poison gas weapons had wreaked havoc in China. In 1989, after retiring from teaching, she published a book of pictures documenting her war experiences and sent it to Chinese war victims to express her remorse and apologies. Since then, she has continued her anti-war campaigning through her drawing and writing. According to the U.S. military's post-war records, Japan produced 6,616 tons of poison gas that was used in over 7 million ammunition rounds, including artillery shells. Some of the poison gas munitions transported to China went unused and were left abandoned, causing problems when they were later found or unearthed. The Japanese government confirmed the "existence of abandoned chemical weapons" in a memorandum to the Chinese government in 1999. Currently, the total number of chemical weapon munitions left behind is estimated at more than 100,000. Japan and China are working together to dispose of them. Okada believes Japanese people "should accept causing a war as our responsibility, face it, reflect on it, apologize for it, make amends for it and ensure that it leads to friendship and peace." With various conflicts raging around the world, "we don't know when Japan will go to war," she said. "Each and every one of us must not be deceived, and we must all work together to prevent war." "Nationalism is the doctrine that must be feared the most." (By Tomoji Tatsumi)
The Diplomat
a day ago
- The Diplomat
The Bodhisattva and the Shrine: Cultural Repatriation and Diplomacy in Japan-South Korea Relations
Unresolved colonial histories and collective traumas continue to shape relations in East Asia through significant historical objects.A 14th-century gilt bronze statue of Kanzeon Bodhisattva was recently returned to Japan from South Korea, following a prolonged legal battle between the two countries over current ownership. The statue had been stolen from Japan's Kannon Temple in 2012 – but South Korea's Buseok Temple claimed to be its rightful owner, pointing out it had only made its way to Japan after being stolen from Korea centuries before. A 2023 court decision, which overturned a previous ruling in favor of Buseok Temple, stated that Kannon Temple had gained legal ownership of the statue through adverse possession. The judgment sparked backlash among Koreans who viewed it as rewarding historical theft. The international movement in favor of returning stolen cultural heritage is gaining momentum. While the pace of restitution remains uneven, governments, museums, and even private actors are increasingly responding. However, the return of looted artifacts is not just about righting historical wrongs; it is also a measure of cultural diplomacy and soft power. In this emerging landscape, the choices made by states and nonstate actors reveal what kind of long-term global values they seek to project. While many of the most widely known cases of stolen art persist in Europe, unresolved colonial histories and collective traumas continue to shape relations in East Asia through significant historical objects, such as the contested Bodhisattva statue, which is now housed at the Tsushima Museum. But not all repatriations have followed this uncertain path. South Korea recently welcomed back Gwanwoldang, a Joseon-era royal shrine building, which had stood in Japan for the last century. Choi Eung-chon, head of the Korean Heritage Service, praised the development as 'an exemplary case that actualizes the values of mutual respect and empathy through cultural heritage.' He added, 'We hope it will become a symbol of cultural solidarity and future-oriented cooperation between Korea and Japan.' The shrine was transported to Japan in 1924, during Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. Though bilateral talks to give the shrine back to South Korea began in 2010, the handover gathered momentum once Japanese archaeologist and ethnologist Sato Takao stepped in with his full support after becoming chief priest of Kotoku-in Temple, where the shrine had been moved in the 1930s. Despite facing pressure from right-wing Japanese nationalists, Sato advocated for the return of Gwanwoldang throughout negotiations, citing both the shrine's historical origins and preservation benefits. He also personally financed the meticulous dismantling and transport of the structure. According to Sato, 'It is a global trend to return cultural heritage taken out during the imperialist era. What matters is the mindset.' Such examples of progressive leadership remain rare in the realm of repatriation, even while countries and communities increasingly demand accountability that goes beyond symbolic gestures. Museums and governments often refuse the repatriation of artifacts, for reasons ranging from conservation to 'universal' platforming, and legal ownership. By contrast, Sato's proactive repatriation demonstrates how nonstate actors can swiftly facilitate relationships and soft power through ethical choices that lay the groundwork for lasting diplomatic bridges and regional trust. Recovering such objects – whether seized, purchased, or gifted – typically relies on political will and legal channels, often straining diplomatic efforts during years of stalled negotiations. This can discourage diplomatic relations on other fronts, as potential allies become locked into avoidable ethical stalemates. With East Asia already heavy with colonial histories and implications, repatriation is a relatively accessible – if largely neglected – tool for geopolitical strategy. The case of the Bodhisattva statue exemplifies a fractured moment in Japan-South Korea relations, marked by theft on both sides as well as international norms that sidestep deeper issues of colonialism and imperialism. While ongoing battles for artifacts continue under comparable constraints throughout the world, Japan and South Korea also share heritage diplomacy successes that can serve as a model for such disputes. The Gwanwoldang shrine – currently in storage in Paju, South Korea and awaiting restoration – is an example of how artifacts of significance can not only be given back with mutual dignity and even admiration between actors, but how they can fuel further exchanges that would have been unlikely beforehand. During the official ceremony at the National Palace Museum in Seoul, Sato announced to the audience, 'We will discuss ways to raise a 100-million yen fund to support academic exchanges on Korean and Japanese cultural heritage and donate it to the Overseas Material Cultural Heritage Foundation. It took 24 years to completely return the Gwanwoldang to Korea. I'm proud to finish something important.'
