(しみん)

citizen

(かわ)

river

(すいしつ)

water quality

(しらべる)

to investigate; to survey

(かつどう)

activity, action

(ひろがる)

to spread

(かくち)

various places, everywhere

(じゅうみん)

resident

(じぶん)

oneself

(て)

hand

(さんかしゃ)

participant, attendee

(かんたん)

simple / easy

(けんさ)

inspection, test, examination

(きっと)

kit (a set of testing tools)

(つかう)

to use

(きめる)

to decide

(ばしょ)

place

(まいつき)

every month

(みず)

water

(とる)

to collect, to take (a sample)

(けっか)

result

(ちず)

map

(かたち)

shape, form

(まとめる)

to compile / to put together

(だれ)

who

(みる)

to see, watch

(こうかい)

release (to the public)

(とりくみ)

efforts, initiatives

(すすめる)

to advance; to move forward

(だんたい)

organization; group

(ぎょうせい)

public administration, the authorities

(ちょうさ)

investigation; survey

(こまかい)

fine / small

(へんか)

change

(わかる)

to understand, be clear

(おなじ)

same

(ちてん)

point, location, site

(ながい)

long

(はかる)

to measure

(つづける)

to continue

(こうじ)

construction work

(おおあめ)

heavy rain

(えいきょう)

Influence; impact; effect

(あらわれる)

to appear

(じっさいに)

actually, in practice

(よごれ)

dirt, contamination, pollution

(げんいん)

cause / reason

(みつかる)

to be found

(れい)

example; case

(かだい)

issue, problem, challenge

(むずかしい)

difficult

(おおく)

many, much

(こうれい)

advanced age

(わかい)

young

(せだい)

generation

(どう)

how / in what way

(さそう)

to invite, to encourage to join

(もんだい)

problem

(がっこう)

school

(じゅぎょう)

lesson; class

(とりいれる)

to take in; to absorb

(こども)

child

(いっしょに)

together

(ほうほう)

method; way

(ためす)

to try, to test

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.

passive form

The passive marks the subject as the one affected. 頭を打たれる means having your head struck by something.

any- (anyone, anything, anywhere)

A question word plus でも means "no matter which one." だれでも来られる場所 is a place that anyone at all can come to, which is the point the article makes about how the cafeterias have changed.

so that ~

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

according to ...

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

just with ~ alone (is not enough)

Expresses that acting by themselves alone is insufficient to handle the bear problem.

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'.

easy to ~ / tends to ~

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

I hear that / it is said

Reports hearsay. 大きく育つそうです means '(I hear) they grow big'.

nominalizer (the act of ~)

Turns verbs into nouns — changing one's awareness (意識を変えること), not over-buying (買いすぎないこと), and using leftovers well (使うこと).

-ness: turns an adjective into a noun

An i-adjective drops い and takes さ to name the quality itself. 難しい becomes 難しさ, 'the difficulty', which is what the writer calls the real challenge.

embedded question: how / who / what ~

A question word plus か wraps a question inside a larger sentence, where it works as a noun phrase. 若い世代をどう誘うか, 'how to attract younger generations', is itself the problem.

has become ~; is now ~

Describes a current state resulting from change — 'AI は道具になっている' means AI has become a tool.

市民が川の水質を調べる活動が広がる

Citizen activities to test river water quality are spreading

各地で、住民が自分たちの手で川の水質を調べる活動が広がっている。

In many parts of the country, activities in which residents test the water quality of rivers with their own hands are spreading.

参加者は簡単な検査キットを使い、決められた場所で毎月水を採る。

Participants use a simple testing kit and collect water each month at designated spots.

結果は地図の形でまとめられ、誰でも見られるように公開されている。

The results are compiled in the form of a map and made public so that anyone can see them.

この取り組みを進める団体によると、行政の調査だけでは、細かい変化までは分からないという。

According to the group promoting this effort, government surveys alone do not reveal small changes.

住民が同じ地点を長く測り続けることで、工事や大雨の影響が現れやすくなる。

By having residents keep measuring the same spot over a long period, the effects of construction work and heavy rain become easier to see.

実際に、汚れの原因が見つかった例もあるそうだ。

In fact, there are reportedly cases in which the cause of the pollution was found.

課題は続けることの難しさだ。

The challenge is the difficulty of keeping it going.

参加者の多くは高齢で、若い世代をどう誘うかが問題になっている。

Many of the participants are elderly, and how to draw in younger generations has become a problem.

ある団体は、学校の授業に検査を取り入れ、子どもと一緒に活動する方法を試している。

One group is trying a method of bringing the testing into school classes and doing the activity together with children.