(ろせん)

route / line

(ばす)

bus

(うんてんしゅ)

driver

(ふそく)

shortage; insufficiency

(しんこく)

serious, grave

(ちほう)

region; area

(ちゅうしん)

center; core

(たりる)

to be enough; to be sufficient

(じょうたい)

state, condition

(つづく)

to continue

(こくどこうつうしょう)

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

(へる)

to decrease / to diminish

(ろうどうじかん)

working hours

(きゅうりょう)

salary, wages

(ひくい)

low

(げんいん)

cause / reason

(してき)

pointing out, indication

(あつまる)

to gather; to come together

(びんすう)

number of services / departures

(そのもの)

itself, the very thing

(うんてん)

operation, driving

(こうれいしゃ)

elderly person

(つうがく)

commuting to school

(こうこうせい)

high school student

(せいかつ)

daily life; livelihood

(かかせない)

indispensable; essential

(いどうしゅだん)

means of transport

(びょういん)

hospital

(むずかしい)

difficult

(こうした)

such / this kind of

(じょうきょう)

situation, circumstances

(うける)

to receive

(かくち)

various places, everywhere

(たいさく)

countermeasure

(はじまる)

to begin

(あげる)

to raise; to increase

(めんきょ)

license

(とる)

to take

(ひよう)

expense, cost

(ほじょ)

subsidy, assistance

(じちたい)

local government / municipality

(よやく)

reservation

(こがた)

Small-sized; compact

(のりあい)

shared ride, ride-sharing

(たくしー)

taxi

(どうにゅう)

introduction (of a system); 導入する = to introduce

(ちいき)

region; area

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(せんもんか)

expert, specialist

(ぜんたい)

the whole / overall

(こうつう)

traffic, transportation

(ささえる)

to support

(しくみ)

structure, system, mechanism

(ひつよう)

necessary / needed

passive form: is done / is said to be

指摘する becomes 指摘されています so the article can report the analysis without naming who made it: 原因だと指摘されています.

according to ...

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

-ness (turns an adjective into a noun)

Replacing the final い of an i-adjective with さ makes a noun. 暑い becomes 暑さ, 'the heat', which is the cause of the poor rice quality here.

because of ~ / since ~

Plain form + ため states a cause in formal writing. 知られていないため = 'because it is not well known'.

doing things like ~ and ~

Lists representative actions among several. Implies there are other actions too. Used twice in this article.

come toward (action approaching)

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

for ~ / from the perspective of ~

Indicates a point of view or perspective. Used twice here for 'the company' and 'the Vietnamese people'.

if (conditional form)

The ば-form states the condition under which the result holds. 使えば、簡単には燃えません is the companies' claim: if special wood is used, it will not burn easily.

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.

in order to, for the purpose of

Expresses purpose. Formed with verb dictionary form + ための + noun, or noun + のための + noun. Modifies the following noun to indicate its purpose.

in response to ~, according to ~

Describes the on-demand service: 予約に応じて走る小型の乗り合いタクシー (shared taxis that run in response to bookings).

need to / necessary to

Expresses necessity. Here it states that congressional discussion is required by law for military attacks.

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.

plain negative modifying a noun

The plain negative 足りない sits in front of 町 to describe it: お金が足りない町 (towns where money is short).

路線バスの運転手不足が深刻に

The shortage of route-bus drivers is becoming serious

地方を中心に、路線バスの運転手が足りない状態が続いています。

Mainly in rural areas, a shortage of route-bus drivers is continuing.

国土交通省によると、運転手の数はこの十年で大きく減りました。

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the number of drivers has fallen sharply over the past ten years.

長い労働時間や給料の低さが原因だと指摘されています。

Long working hours and low pay are pointed to as the causes.

運転手が集まらないため、便数を減らしたり、路線そのものをやめたりするバス会社も出てきました。

Because they cannot find drivers, bus companies have begun cutting the number of services or scrapping routes altogether.

車を運転しない高齢者や通学する高校生にとって、バスは生活に欠かせない移動手段です。

For elderly people who do not drive and for high school students commuting to school, the bus is an indispensable means of getting around.

路線がなくなれば、病院や学校へ行くことが難しくなります。

If a route disappears, getting to hospitals and schools becomes difficult.

こうした状況を受けて、各地で対策が始まっています。

In response to this situation, countermeasures are starting in many parts of the country.

給料を上げる会社や、免許を取るための費用を補助する自治体があります。

There are companies raising wages, and local governments that subsidise the cost of obtaining a licence.

予約に応じて走る小型の乗り合いタクシーを導入する地域も増えています。

A growing number of areas are also introducing small shared taxis that run in response to bookings.

専門家は「地域全体で交通を支える仕組みを作る必要がある」と話しています。

Experts say, "We need to build a system in which the whole community supports its transport."