(へいこう)

school closure, closing a school

(がっこう)

school

(ちいき)

region; area

(きょてん)

base, hub

(かわる)

to change

(こども)

child

(かず)

number, count

(へる)

to decrease / to diminish

(ぜんこく)

nationwide; the whole country

(とうはいごう)

consolidation and closure (of schools, offices)

(すすむ)

to advance, to progress

(つかう)

to use

(こうしゃ)

school building

(そのまま)

as it is, unchanged

(のこす)

to leave behind, to leave uneaten

(かんり)

management, administration

(ひよう)

expense, cost

(かかる)

to take (time/money), cost

(あたらしい)

new

(かつよう)

utilization, making good use of

(する)

to do

(うごき)

movement; trend

(かくち)

various places, everywhere

(ひろがる)

to spread

(ある)

a certain (some)

(まち)

town

(しょうがっこう)

elementary school

(きょうしつ)

classroom; class, workshop

(きぎょう)

company; enterprise

(じむしょ)

office

(かしだす)

to lend out, to rent out

(たいいくかん)

gymnasium

(すぽーつ)

sport

(ひなんじょ)

shelter

(りよう)

use; utilization

(きゅうしょくしつ)

school kitchen (where lunches are cooked)

(かいそう)

renovation, remodelling

(じもと)

local / one's hometown

(やさい)

vegetables

(しょくひん)

food products, foodstuffs

(つくる)

to make

(こうじょう)

factory

(れい)

example; case

(かだい)

issue, problem, challenge

(じんざい)

human resources, talented people

(ふるい)

old (things)

(たてもの)

building

(たいしんこうじ)

earthquake-proofing work

(ひつよう)

necessary / needed

(ばあい)

case; situation

(おおい)

many

(うんえい)

management / administration

(つづける)

to continue

(ひと)

person / people

(かかせない)

indispensable; essential

(もんぶかがくしょう)

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

(じれい)

case, worked example

(しょうかい)

introduction, presentation

(じちたい)

local government / municipality

(しえん)

support; aid; assistance

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: to be done (to something)

The passive turns the object into the subject, so the doer disappears. 使われなくなった校舎 and 避難所に利用されています both describe what happens to the buildings without naming who does it.

as / in the role of

Marks the role, capacity, or status in which something is treated. Used here as 特別な史跡として (as a special historic site).

decide on / make it X

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

a verb clause modifying a noun

Japanese puts a whole clause in plain form directly in front of the noun it describes. 閉校した学校 = 'a school that has closed'; 閉校した小学校 works the same way.

and then ~ (te-form linking)

The te-form links successive actions in one sentence. 置いて connects placing the clothes with comparing their temperature, and 考えて connects thinking with choosing.

and (non-exhaustive list)

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

polite non-past tense

The polite non-past ～ます states what will happen — the funeral will continue.

polite copula / is, am, are

Describes states such as the mother panda being healthy and the baby being small.

does not ~ (polite negative)

ません is the polite negative form of verbs. It negates the action in a formal/polite context.

閉校した学校が地域の拠点に変わる

Closed schools are turning into community hubs

子どもの数が減り、全国で学校の統廃合が進んでいます。

The number of children is falling, and school mergers and closures are advancing across the country.

使われなくなった校舎をそのまま残すと、管理の費用がかかります。

If a school building that is no longer used is simply left standing, it costs money to maintain.

そこで、地域の新しい拠点として活用する動きが各地で広がっています。

So a movement to put such buildings to use as new community hubs is spreading around the country.

ある町では、閉校した小学校の教室を企業の事務所として貸し出しています。

In one town, the classrooms of a closed elementary school are rented out as company offices.

体育館はスポーツ教室や避難所に利用されています。

The gymnasium is used for sports classes and as an evacuation shelter.

給食室を改装して、地元の野菜を使った食品を作る工場にした例もあります。

There is also a case where the school kitchen was remodelled into a factory making food from local vegetables.

課題は費用と人材です。

The challenges are cost and staffing.

古い建物は耐震工事が必要な場合が多く、運営を続ける人も欠かせません。

Old buildings often need earthquake-proofing work, and people to keep them running are indispensable as well.

文部科学省は活用の事例を紹介して、自治体を支援しています。

The Ministry of Education introduces examples of such reuse and supports local governments.