(あかじ)

deficit, being in the red

(ろーかる)

local

(せん)

line

(どう)

how / in what way

(のこす)

to leave behind, to leave uneaten

(じんこう)

population

(へる)

to decrease / to diminish

(ちほう)

region; area

(てつどう)

railway; railroad

(りよう)

use; utilization

(ひと)

person / people

(つづける)

to continue

(てつどうがいしゃ)

railway company

(しゅうにゅう)

income, revenue

(すくない)

few, scarce

(ろせん)

route / line

(いじ)

maintenance, upkeep

(むずかしい)

difficult

(うったえる)

to sue; to appeal; to file a complaint

(くに)

country; the government

(じちたい)

local government / municipality

(はなしあう)

to discuss

(ば)

place; spot

(もうける)

to set up, to establish

(せんろ)

railway track

(ばす)

bus

(きりかえる)

to switch over, to change to

(けんとう)

consideration / examination

(かえる)

to change

(ひよう)

expense, cost

(さがる)

To fall; to go down

(くるま)

car

(もつ)

to have; to hold

(こうれいしゃ)

elderly person

(がくせい)

student

(ふべん)

inconvenient

(してき)

pointing out, indication

(いっぽう)

on the other hand / meanwhile

(かんこうきゃく)

tourist; sightseer

(よぶ)

to call

(まもる)

to protect

(ちいき)

region; area

(じもと)

local / one's hometown

(たべもの)

food

(しゃない)

inside the vehicle, on board

(たのしむ)

to enjoy

(れっしゃ)

train

(はしらせる)

to run (a vehicle), to operate

(けんがい)

outside the prefecture

(おとずれる)

to visit

(じょうきゃく)

passenger

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(れい)

example; case

(とち)

land, plot of land

(くらす)

to live, to spend time

(せいかつ)

daily life; livelihood

(ちょくせつ)

directly

(かかわる)

to be related to, to affect

(もんだい)

problem

because of, due to

Indicates a reason or cause. More formal than から or ので. Can follow nouns (の + ため) or plain-form verbs/adjectives.

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

the one who / the thing that ~ (nominalizing の)

の stands in for an unnamed person or thing. 引き継ぐのが、大岩剛さんです means 'the one who takes over is Go Oiwa'.

passive form of する-verbs

検討されています is the passive of 検討する - the proposal is being examined, with no explicit agent.

conditional: if ~

Ba-form conditional expressing 'if ~ then ~'.

but / however (contrast)

Conjunctive particle used to connect two clauses with contrasting or unexpected information.

for ~ / from the perspective of ~

Indicates a point of view or perspective. Used twice here for 'the company' and 'the Vietnamese people'.

called/named ~

Used to introduce or name something. In this article, 「鳥貴族」という店 means 'a store called Torikizoku'.

By doing; through the act of

Indicates that the preceding action serves as a means or cause for what follows. 'アメリカとウクライナが一緒に開発することで' means 'by developing together'.

to try to / to attempt to

Shows the government attempting to promote it: 進めようとしている.

upon doing ~ / when ~ was done

Describes the result after performing an action: 雄の花の芽を調べたところ (upon examining the male flower buds).

赤字のローカル線をどう残すか

How can loss-making local rail lines be kept?

人口が減っているため、地方の鉄道を利用する人が減り続けています。

Because the population is shrinking, the number of people using rural railways keeps falling.

鉄道会社は、収入の少ない路線を維持するのが難しいと訴えています。

Railway companies say that it is difficult to maintain lines that bring in little revenue.

国と自治体、鉄道会社は、路線をどうするか話し合う場を設けています。

The national government, local authorities and the railway companies have set up forums to discuss what to do with these lines.

線路を残すか、バスに切り替えるかが検討されています。

Whether to keep the tracks or switch to buses is under consideration.

バスに変えれば費用は下がりますが、車を持たない高齢者や学生にとっては不便になるという指摘もあります。

Switching to buses would bring costs down, but some point out that it would be inconvenient for elderly people and students who do not own a car.

一方、観光客を呼ぶことで路線を守ろうとする地域もあります。

On the other hand, there are also regions trying to protect their lines by attracting tourists.

地元の食べ物を車内で楽しめる列車を走らせたところ、県外から訪れる乗客が増えた例もあります。

In one case, after a train where passengers can enjoy local food on board was put into service, the number of passengers visiting from outside the prefecture increased.

鉄道をどう残すかは、その土地で暮らす人の生活に直接関わる問題です。

How to keep the railways is a question that directly affects the daily lives of the people who live in those places.