(あきや)

empty house, vacant house

(かふぇ)

cafe

(まち)

town

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(にほん)

Japan

(すむ)

to live; to reside

(いえ)

house

(たくさん)

a lot / many

(ある)

a certain (some)

(ふるい)

old (things)

(こわれる)

to break, to be destroyed

(いま)

now

(みせ)

shop, store

(ひと)

person / people

(きれい)

pretty, clean

(こーひー)

coffee

(のむ)

to drink

(つくる)

to make

(こども)

child

(ほん)

book

(よむ)

to read

(ばしょ)

place

(ちかく)

nearby

(りょこう)

Travel; trip

(くる)

to come

(みんな)

Everyone; everybody

(はなす)

to speak, talk

(きょねん)

last year

(いつつ)

five (things)

(あたらしい)

new

(げんき)

Healthy; energetic; lively

(うれしい)

happy; glad

nobody / no one does ~

だれも with a negative verb means 'nobody'. In this article it describes houses where 住んでいない — nobody is living there.

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.

to say that ...

Quotation pattern. と marks the quoted content, followed by 言う (to say). Used for both direct and indirect speech.

to become (い-adjective)

Expresses a change of state for い-adjectives. Drop the final い and add くなる. Indicates something has changed or will change to a new state.

there are cases/times when ～

Describes a possibility or occasional occurrence.

and (non-exhaustive list)

や lists representative examples — Shikoku and Kyushu among other regions (四国や九州).

decide on / make it X

Indicates choice or theme. Here makes SF and LGBTQ the themes.

to become

Expresses a change of state; Kawai became the new commissioner of the Sports Agency.

空き家をカフェにする町が増える

More towns are turning vacant houses into cafés

日本には、だれも住んでいない家がたくさんあります。

In Japan there are many houses where nobody lives.

この家を「空き家」と言います。

These houses are called "akiya" (vacant houses).

空き家は、古くなって、こわれることもあります。

Vacant houses get old, and sometimes they fall apart.

今、空き家をカフェや店にする町が増えています。

Now, more and more towns are turning vacant houses into cafés and shops.

町の人が古い家をきれいにして、コーヒーを飲む店を作ります。

People in the town clean up the old houses and make shops where you can drink coffee.

子どもが本を読む場所になった空き家もあります。

There are also vacant houses that have become places where children read books.

近くの人や旅行の人が来て、みんなで話します。

People from nearby and travelers come, and everyone talks together.

ある町では、去年、五つの空き家が新しい店になりました。

In one town, five vacant houses became new shops last year.

町の人は「この町が元気になって、うれしいです」と話しています。

A resident says, "I'm happy that this town has become lively."