(め)

eye

(わるい)

bad

(こども)

child

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(もんぶかがくしょう)

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

(しらべ)

investigation; survey

(しりょく)

eyesight, vision

(ひくい)

low

(しょうがくせい)

elementary school student

(わり)

ten percent, proportion

(ちかく)

nearby

(ちゅうがくせい)

middle school student

(やく)

approximately, about

(いしゃ)

doctor

(がめん)

screen, display

(ながい)

long

(じかん)

time

(みる)

to see, watch

(げんいん)

cause / reason

(ひとつ)

one (thing)

(そと)

outside

(あそぶ)

to play

(みじかい)

short

(かんけい)

relation

(せんもんか)

expert, specialist

(ぐらい)

about, approximately

(すこし)

a little

(やすむ)

to rest; to take a break

(とおく)

far away / distance

(すごす)

to spend (time)

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.

to find out that ~; to realize that ~

Used to report the discovery that many oysters had died when harvesting began.

according to ...

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

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 considered to be ~

Passive form expressing general consensus.

if ..., when ...

Conditional form indicating 'if' or 'when' something happens. Formed by adding ら to the た-form of a verb. Expresses a hypothetical or temporal condition.

to tell (someone) to ~

Used to convey instructions or requests indirectly. Police are telling people to contact them.

I hear that ~, they say that ~

Attached to a plain form to report information heard from another source. The article uses it because the increase in collected oil is reported second-hand rather than observed directly.

目が悪い子どもが増えている

More children have poor eyesight

文部科学省の調べで、目が悪い子どもが増えていることがわかりました。

A survey by the Ministry of Education has found that the number of children with poor eyesight is rising.

視力が1.0より低い小学生は4割近くいます。

Nearly 40% of elementary school students have vision below 1.0.

中学生では約6割です。

Among junior high school students, it is about 60%.

医者によると、スマートフォンやゲームの画面を近くで長い時間見ることが、原因の一つです。

According to doctors, looking at smartphone and game screens up close for long periods is one of the causes.

外で遊ぶ時間が短くなったことも関係があると考えられています。

It is thought that children spending less time playing outside is also a factor.

専門家は、30分ぐらい画面を見たら、少し休んで遠くを見るように言っています。

Experts say that after looking at a screen for about 30 minutes, you should rest a little and look into the distance.

また、1日に2時間ぐらい外で過ごすことも、目のためにいいそうです。

They also say that spending about two hours a day outside is good for the eyes.