(きゅうしょく)

school lunch

(むりょう)

free of charge

(し)

city

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(にほん)

Japan

(しょうがっこう)

elementary school

(ちゅうがっこう)

middle school / junior high school

(まち)

town

(いま)

now

(おかね)

money

(かぞく)

family

(はらう)

to pay

(しかし)

however, but

(ことし)

this year

(ある)

a certain (some)

(きょねん)

last year

(おおい)

many

(こども)

child

(いえ)

house

(やすい)

cheap / inexpensive

(しんぱい)

worry / concern

(すくない)

few, scarce

(げんき)

Healthy; energetic; lively

(そだつ)

to grow up / to be raised

(たいせつ)

important

(はなす)

to speak, talk

(でも)

but; however

(たりる)

to be enough; to be sufficient

(できる)

to be able; to be made

(くに)

country; the government

(ぜんこく)

nationwide; the whole country

(ほうほう)

method; way

(かんがえる)

to think; to consider

to become

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

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.

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.

until / as far as

Indicates an end point in space or time. Here it expresses how far the balls flew.

from (starting point)

Indicates the origin or source. 建物の中から means 'from inside the building'.

it's okay not to ~; don't have to ~

Expresses that there is no obligation or necessity to do something.

than / more than

Indicates comparison. Used to say prices rose on average 2.8% compared to last year.

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.

not ~ (negative i-adjective)

The polite negative of an い-adjective replaces い with くありません. 安くありません says the cost is 'not cheap'.

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.'

in order to ～

Expresses purpose.

quotative particle

Marks the content of what someone said or reported. Used with 言う here.

Because there is no ~; without ~

Negative te-form connecting clauses. Expresses a reason or cause in its negative form, often indicating lack or absence.

給食が無料になる市が増える

More cities are making school lunches free

日本で、小学校や中学校の給食を無料にする市や町が増えています。

In Japan, more and more cities and towns are making elementary and junior high school lunches free.

今まで、給食のお金は家族が払っていました。

Until now, families paid the money for school lunches.

しかし、今年から払わなくてもいい市があります。

However, from this year there are cities where you do not have to pay.

無料にする市は、去年より多くなりました。

There are more cities making it free than there were last year.

子どもが多い家では、給食のお金は安くありません。

In households with many children, the cost of school lunches is not cheap.

無料になると、家族のお金の心配が少なくなります。

When it becomes free, families have fewer money worries.

市は「子どもが元気に育つために大切です」と話しています。

The city says, "It is important so that children grow up healthy."

でも、お金が足りなくて、無料にできない町もあります。

But there are also towns that do not have enough money and cannot make it free.

国は、全国で無料にする方法を考えています。

The national government is considering ways to make it free across the whole country.