(うんてん)

operation, driving

(めんきょ)

license

(かえす)

to return (something); to give back

(こうれいしゃ)

elderly person

(ばす)

bus

(けん)

ticket, certificate

(にほん)

Japan

(くるま)

car

(やめる)

to stop; to quit

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(としをとる)

to grow old; to age

(め)

eye

(みみ)

ear

(よわい)

Weak

(じこ)

accident; incident

(おこす)

To cause; to bring about

(けいさつ)

police

(きょねん)

last year

(じぶん)

oneself

(ななじゅうごさい)

75 years old

(いじょう)

more than; beyond this

(ひと)

person / people

(ぜんこく)

nationwide; the whole country

(やく)

approximately, about

(さんじゅうまんにん)

300,000 people

(しかし)

however, but

(かいもの)

shopping

(びょういん)

hospital

(いく)

to go

(ふべん)

inconvenient

(そのため)

therefore; for that reason

(たくしー)

taxi

(くばる)

to distribute, hand out

(し)

city

(まち)

town

(いちねんかん)

for one year

(しない)

in the city, within the city

(はんぶん)

half

(ねだん)

price

(のる)

to ride, board

(たんとうしゃ)

person in charge

(つかう)

to use

(あんしん)

relief / peace of mind

(せいかつ)

daily life; livelihood

(こうつう)

traffic, transportation

(べん)

convenience, transport service

(よい)

good

(はなす)

to speak, talk

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.

if / when (natural consequence)

Conditional と indicating a natural or expected result. 一緒に捨てると…火が出て means 'if you throw them away together, fire starts.'

and (non-exhaustive list)

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

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.

easy to ~ / tends to ~

Used in 'うつりやすくて' meaning 'easily contagious / easy to catch'.

it is because ~

Gives a reason at the end of a sentence. Used here to explain why gasoline prices dropped (government subsidies).

according to ...

Cites a source of information. The noun before によると is the source. Often followed by a reported statement.

to become

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

come toward (action approaching)

Indicates motion toward the speaker or a location. Here it describes rocks flying toward people.

can do ..., to be able to ...

Verb dictionary form + ことができる expresses ability or possibility. More formal than the potential verb form. Common in written Japanese and announcements.

even without ~ / even if not ~

Negative te-form with も meaning even if not. Here 予約をしなくても (even without making a reservation).

so that ~

Indicates a goal or desired outcome. Here: so that trainees reach the Specified Skilled Worker level.

to go on doing / continue to (from now)

In '増えていく' – 'will continue to increase (into the future)'. Indicates continuing trend going forward.

want to ~

Verb stem + たい to express desire.

運転免許を返す高齢者にバス券

Bus tickets for elderly people who hand back their driver's licences

日本では、車の運転をやめる高齢者が増えています。

In Japan, the number of elderly people who stop driving is increasing.

年を取ると、目や耳が弱くなって、事故を起こしやすくなるからです。

That is because, as people age, their eyes and ears weaken and they become more likely to cause accidents.

警察によると、去年、運転免許を自分から返した七十五歳以上の人は、全国で約三十万人でした。

According to the police, about 300,000 people aged 75 or older voluntarily returned their driver's licences nationwide last year.

しかし、車がないと買い物や病院に行くのが不便になります。

However, without a car it becomes inconvenient to go shopping or to the hospital.

そのため、免許を返した人にバスやタクシーの券を配る市や町が増えてきました。

For that reason, more cities and towns have begun handing out bus and taxi tickets to people who return their licences.

ある市では、免許を返すと、一年間、市内のバスに半分の値段で乗ることができます。

In one city, if you return your licence you can ride city buses at half price for a year.

市の担当者は「車を使わなくても安心して生活できるように、交通の便をよくしていきたい」と話しています。

A city official says, "We want to keep improving transport service so that people can live with peace of mind even without using a car."