日本に来る外国人が3000万人を超えた

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya, your host. Today is May twenty-fourth. This is our very first episode. Today's story: more foreigners are visiting Japan than ever before. The number just passed thirty million. Let's listen.

All right. This story uses simple, everyday Japanese. Perfect for beginners. Let's break it down.

The first sentence.

Last year, the number of foreigners who came to Japan exceeded thirty million. Let's look at the key words.

Last year. One of the first time words you learn.

Foreigner. The three characters mean outside, country, person. Very logical.

Exceeded, passed. When a number goes over a target, you use this verb.

Where are the visitors from?

The country with the most visitors is China. Next is South Korea, then America.

The most. The first word means number one, the second means many. Together: the most numerous.

Next. Short and useful. You'll hear it everywhere.

What places are popular?

The places popular with foreigners are Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Popular. Literally, it means has people's spirit. You can use this for anything — a restaurant, a song, a person.

Place, location. A basic but very important word.

And new trends.

Recently, the number of people going to Hokkaido and Okinawa is also increasing.

Recently. Use it at the beginning of a sentence to talk about current trends.

Is increasing. The ongoing form means it's a change that's still happening. Very common in news.

There's a side effect.

Because many foreigners are coming, hotel prices have gone up.

A lot, many. Very basic, very useful.

Price. You can say the price is high, or the price is cheap.

And a challenge.

There are also foreigners who don't understand Japanese and have trouble.

Don't understand. One of the most important verbs in Japanese.

To be in trouble, to have difficulty. When you're lost in Japan and can't read the signs — that feeling.

The solution.

At stations and restaurants, English menus and guides are increasing.

Guide, information. You'll see this on signs everywhere.

And what the government says.

The Japanese government says they want even more foreigners to come.

More, even more. A very handy word for everyday conversation.

Want someone to come. This pattern means you want someone else to do something. It's different from when you say what you yourself want to do.

Let's listen to the full story one more time.

Quiz time. Three questions.

How many foreigners came to Japan last year? Over thirty million.

Which country has the most visitors? China.

What's happening to hotel prices? They're going up.

That's the first episode of Japanese Daily News. Full transcript with furigana at podcast.jpnotes.dev. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. See you tomorrow.