(とち)

land, plot of land

(ねだん)

price

(ねん)

year

(つづける)

to continue

(あがる)

to rise / to go up

(くに)

country; the government

(まいとし)

every year

(にほん)

Japan

(しらべる)

to investigate; to survey

(ことし)

this year

(へいきん)

average / mean

(きょねん)

last year

(おおきい)

big; large

(まち)

town

(えき)

station

(ちかい)

near / close

(みせ)

shop, store

(おおい)

many

(ところ)

place; area

(がいこく)

foreign country

(くる)

to come

(ひと)

person / people

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(あたらしい)

new

(ほてる)

hotel

(つくる)

to make

(かいしゃ)

company

(かう)

to buy

(たかい)

expensive; high

(でも)

but; however

(すくない)

few, scarce

(いま)

now

(さがる)

To fall; to go down

(ある)

a certain (some)

(ばしょ)

place

(ちがい)

difference

(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/います. Can describe an action in progress or a state that continues from a past change.

than / more than

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

did ... (polite past)

Polite past tense of verbs. Formed with verb stem + ました. Used in formal or polite speech to describe completed actions.

The one that ~; what ~ is

Nominalizer の followed by the topic marker は, used to turn a clause into a noun phrase that serves as the topic of the sentence.

in ~ / at ~ (topic marker for location/context)

Combination of で (location) and は (topic). Sets the context: in speed skating, in ski jumping, etc.

and (non-exhaustive list)

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

want to ~

Verb stem + たい to express desire.

it is because ~

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

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.'

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.

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.

by means of / through

Expresses the means by which something is achieved — through sport, everyone can live together.

quotation particle と

と marks the quoted content before verbs like 言う, 答える and 話す. Both quoted remarks in this article — the survey answer and the expert's comment — are closed with 」と.

土地の値段が5年続けて上がった

Land prices have risen for the fifth year in a row

国は毎年、日本の土地の値段を調べています。

Every year the government surveys land prices in Japan.

今年の調べで、土地の平均の値段は去年より上がりました。

In this year's survey, the average price of land was higher than last year.

値段が上がったのは、5年続けてです。

This is the fifth year in a row that prices have risen.

大きな町では、駅の近くやお店が多い所の値段が上がりました。

In large towns, prices rose near stations and in areas with many shops.

外国から来る人が増えて、新しいホテルや店を作りたい会社が多いからです。

That is because more people are coming from abroad, and many companies want to build new hotels and shops.

土地を買いたい人が増えると、値段は高くなります。

When more people want to buy land, prices go up.

でも、人が少なくなった町では、今も値段が下がっている所があります。

However, in towns where the population has fallen, there are still places where prices are dropping.

国は「場所によって違いが大きいです」と話しています。

The government says, "The differences between locations are large."