Japanese Daily News

Tonight, a look at Japan's rising food prices, and the global forces pushing them up. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Here's a bright summer story from Tokyo: an old festival where a temple fills up with little orange plants and the gentle sound of wind chimes. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Here's a story about turning old gadgets into treasure: Japan is testing a new way to collect used phones and computers using delivery trucks. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Here's a heartwarming animal story from central Japan. At a park in Toyama, seven chicks of a very rare mountain bird have just hatched. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

A large, very powerful typhoon is bearing down on Okinawa's southern islands right now. Today's story is about the warnings and what people there are being told to do. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Summer in Japan means festivals and fireworks. Today's story is about one of Tokyo's most famous fireworks festivals, coming up later this month. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Here's a story for anyone who travels abroad: from this month, the tax you pay when you leave Japan has gone up. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Here's a weather story that tells you summer has truly arrived. In much of western Japan, the long rainy season has just ended, earlier than usual, and hot days are on the way. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Here's a story from space. Japan's asteroid probe just flew right past a small asteroid, and the mission also helps develop technology to protect the Earth. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Here's a tasty summer story. Japan has a special midsummer day when people eat eel to beat the heat. This year that day is coming soon, and shops have started taking reservations. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

There's big news about the maglev bullet train. The governor of Shizuoka has finally approved construction in his prefecture, and the whole project can now move forward. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Japan's climbing season for Mount Fuji has just begun, and this year every route has new rules — including a fee for everyone who climbs. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Japan's National Tax Agency just released this year's official land values, and prices rose nationwide by the most in over a decade. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

At an aquarium in Tokyo, two baby penguins born this spring are about to swim in front of visitors for the very first time. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Japan's big companies just posted their highest summer bonuses on record, topping one million yen on average for the first time ever. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

At a Moomin theme park in Saitama, near Tokyo, a summer water event began yesterday. After a rumble of thunder, a sudden downpour falls from above, and everyone cools off. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

The city of Fujisawa, near Tokyo, has started lending out life jackets with built-in GPS trackers at its beaches this summer. For a public beach in Japan, it's a first. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

In Hiratsuka, a city in Kanagawa near Tokyo, one of Japan's biggest star festivals opens today, with about a hundred giant paper decorations lining the streets. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Japan's weather agency has created a new word for days when the temperature climbs past forty degrees, and forecasts will start using it this summer. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

A big new exhibition about Antarctica opens in Tokyo today, celebrating seventy years of Japanese research at the South Pole. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Japan's government has announced that the number of babies born last year fell to a new record low. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Tomorrow, one of Japan's most famous summer festivals begins in Kyoto. It runs for the whole month of July. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

After seventy-nine years, the Negishi Housing Area used by the U.S. military in Yokohama has been returned to Japan. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Tomorrow, July first, the climbing season opens on Mount Fuji, and this year again every route charges an entry fee. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Japan loses to Brazil at the World Cup after leading, the Kintetsu Kyoto Line reopens fully, and heavy rain threatens southern Kyushu. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Okinawa's rainy season ends, the thirty-two teams for the World Cup knockout round are decided with Japan set to face Brazil, and a train derails at Kyoto Station with no injuries. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

The thirty-two teams for the World Cup knockout round are set, Mr. Matsubara wins a third term as mayor of Komae, and the Self-Defense Forces deploy missiles to Minami-Torishima island. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Typhoon number eight makes landfall in the Kanto region, the Hanshin baseball team finally plays after four days of rain, and semiconductor stocks fall sharply in Tokyo. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

The Emperor and Empress return home from Belgium, two typhoons approach the Kanto region, and a fire breaks out at a Tokyo elementary school. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

An earthquake hits Aomori Prefecture, bullet trains are stopped, the stock market bounces back, and Morocco wins a World Cup game. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Three big stories: Typhoon number seven is heading toward Okinawa, Nintendo's stock price is falling, and there's a shortage of childhood cancer medicines. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

The King and Queen of Belgium are visiting Japan, and the Emperor and Empress held a special dinner for them. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

For high-school students looking for work, this is the best job market on record — there are more openings than ever. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

China is limiting exports of a metal called tungsten, and that's a worry for Japanese makers of phones and chips. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

Japan is changing the rules for private lodging — renting out homes to travelers — after a rise in trouble with the neighbors. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

The Bank of Japan has raised its interest rate to one percent — something we haven't seen in a very long time. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N5-N4.

The price of chicken in Japan has climbed to its highest level on record — and a weaker yen is a big part of the reason. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

On the evening of the sixteenth, a strong earthquake hit the Kanto region near Tokyo. Two prefectures felt a level five-weak quake, but there was no danger of a tsunami. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

Japan played its first match at the World Cup, against one of the strongest teams in the world, the Netherlands — and came from behind twice to earn a hard-fought draw. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.

In college baseball, the team from Kansai University won the national championship — their first title in fifty-four years. Learn Japanese with native audio, furigana, vocabulary and grammar. Level N4-N3.