(こうしゅうでんわ)

public telephone, pay phone

(へる)

to decrease / to diminish

(なか)

inside

(さいがいじ)

time of disaster

(やくわり)

role, part

(ちゅうもく)

attention, notice

(まち)

town, street

(すこしずつ)

little by little

(すがた)

figure; appearance

(けす)

to extinguish, to turn off

(けいたいでんわ)

mobile phone; cell phone

(ひろまる)

to spread, to become widespread

(つかう)

to use

(ひと)

person / people

(おおきい)

big; large

(つうしんがいしゃ)

telecommunications company

(ひつよう)

necessary / needed

(かず)

number, count

(のこす)

to leave behind, to leave uneaten

(いがい)

other than, except

(かたづける)

to tidy up, to clean up

(いっぽう)

on the other hand / meanwhile

(さいがい)

disaster

(とき)

time / occasion

(やくにたつ)

to be useful

(いう)

to say

(じしん)

earthquake

(おきる)

to happen, occur

(つながる)

to be connected, to link up

(でんわせん)

telephone line

(でんき)

electricity

(もらう)

to receive

(ていでん)

power outage / blackout

(むりょう)

free of charge

(ただ)

only, just, ordinary

(しる)

to know, learn

(わかい)

young

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(がっこう)

school

(ちいき)

region; area

(じゅわき)

telephone receiver, handset

(とる)

to take

(おかね)

money

(いれる)

to put in

(じゅんばん)

order; turn; ranking

(おしえる)

to teach

(れんしゅう)

practice, training

(せんもんか)

expert, specialist

(いえ)

house

(ちかく)

nearby

(ばしょ)

place

(かぞく)

family

(たしかめる)

to make sure; to confirm

(たいせつ)

important

(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.

because of, due to

Indicates a reason or cause. More formal than から or ので. Can follow nouns (の + ため) or plain-form verbs/adjectives.

it is because ~

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

only ~

Limiter particle. 女性だけが宇宙船に乗りました means 'only women boarded the spaceship.'

and / by doing (means)

The te-form connects clauses; here it expresses the means by which the teacher creates problems (by using AI).

it is said that ~

Passive form expressing common knowledge or reputation. It is said that aquaculture of nodoguro is difficult.

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.'

hard to ~; difficult to ~

Attached to a verb stem to describe difficulty — 'people who have difficulty hearing'.

because ~ / since ~

Causal connector. Because JA is buying at higher prices, store prices will also rise.

Even ~; also at ~

Particle でも after a noun means 'even' or 'also at.' 首相官邸の庭でも means 'even at the Prime Minister's residence garden.'

potential form: can do ~

使う becomes 使える to say the phones can still be used: 停電のときでも使えます.

to become

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

there are cases where / sometimes

Indicates a possible downside: 給料が下がる場合もあります (there are cases where pay goes down).

way of doing

Attached to verb stem to mean 'way of doing'. '力の入れ方' means 'way of applying force'.

negative form: does not ~, will not ~

The plain negative 出ない in the headline and the polite negative 出ません in the article both say that Ohtani will not appear in the game.

after doing ...

Expresses a sequence where one action is completed before the next begins. Formed with て-form + から. Emphasizes completion of the first action.

Do ~ in advance (preparation)

Indicates doing something in advance for future readiness. Companies need to decide procedures in advance.

is saying that ..., is talking about ...

Quotation と + 話している. Used to report what someone is saying in speech. Similar to と言っている but slightly more formal.

公衆電話が減る中で災害時の役割に注目

As public telephones disappear, attention turns to their role in a disaster

街の中から公衆電話が少しずつ姿を消しています。

Public telephones are gradually disappearing from the streets of towns.

携帯電話が広まったため、使う人が大きく減ったからです。

That is because mobile phones have become widespread and the number of people who use them has dropped sharply.

通信会社は必要な数だけを残して、それ以外を片づけています。

Telecom companies are keeping only as many as are needed and removing the rest.

一方で、災害の時には公衆電話が役に立つと言われています。

On the other hand, public telephones are said to be useful in times of disaster.

大きな地震が起きると、携帯電話はつながりにくくなります。

When a big earthquake happens, mobile phones become hard to get through on.

公衆電話は電話線から電気をもらうので、停電のときでも使えます。

Public telephones draw their power from the telephone line, so they can be used even during a blackout.

災害のときは無料になる場合もあります。

In a disaster there are also cases where they become free of charge.

ただ、使い方を知らない若い人も増えています。

However, the number of young people who do not know how to use them is also increasing.

そのため、学校や地域では、受話器を取ってからお金を入れる順番を教える練習をしています。

For that reason, schools and local communities are running practice sessions that teach the order — pick up the receiver first, then put in the money.

専門家は、家の近くにある公衆電話の場所を、家族で確かめておくことが大切だと話しています。

Experts say it is important for families to check in advance where the public telephones near their home are.