(じさつ)

suicide

(ひと)

person / people

(すくない)

few, scarce

(こども)

child

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(くに)

country; the government

(しらべる)

to investigate; to survey

(かず)

number, count

(まえ)

before, previous

(とし)

year

(まいとし)

every year

(しかし)

however, but

(しょうがくせい)

elementary school student

(ちゅうがくせい)

middle school student

(こうこうせい)

high school student

(がっこう)

school

(かぞく)

family

(ともだち)

friend

(かんけい)

relation

(なやむ)

to worry, be troubled

(おおい)

many

(こまる)

to be troubled; to be in difficulty

(そうだん)

consultation; discussion

(ばしょ)

place

(ふやす)

to increase (something)

(せんせい)

teacher

(はなし)

talk, story

(よく)

often, well, frequently

(きく)

to listen, hear

(たいせつ)

important

(でんわ)

telephone / phone call

(いんたーねっと)

Internet

according to ...

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

than / more than

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

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.

and (non-exhaustive list)

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

such as / etc.

Used to give examples from a larger group.

nominalizer (the act of ~)

Turns verbs into nouns — changing one's awareness (意識を変えること), not over-buying (買いすぎないこと), and using leftovers well (使うこと).

with (connecting a noun phrase)

Connects nouns via と. '台湾との交流' means 'exchange with Taiwan'.

by means of / with (instrument)

The particle で indicates the means or method by which an action is performed.

it is said that ~

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

when ~

Indicates the time when something happened — when he was in junior high school.

easy to ~ / tends to ~

Used in 'うつりやすくて' meaning 'easily contagious / easy to catch'.

want to ~

Verb stem + たい to express desire.

to think/consider that ~

Expresses thought or opinion. 問題だと考えています means 'consider it a problem'.

can do ..., to be able to ...

Verb dictionary form + ことができる expresses ability or possibility. More formal than the potential verb form. Common in written Japanese and announcements.

自殺した人が少なくなった　子どもは増えている

Fewer people died by suicide, but more children are

国の調べによると、自殺した人の数は、前の年より少なくなりました。

According to a government survey, the number of people who died by suicide fell compared with the previous year.

国は、この数を毎年調べています。

The government looks into this number every year.

しかし、小学生や中学生、高校生など、子どもの自殺は増えています。

However, suicides among children, such as elementary, junior high and high school students, are increasing.

学校のことや家族のこと、友だちとの関係で悩む子どもが多いと言われています。

It is said that many children are troubled by things at school, things in their family, and relationships with friends.

国は、子どもが困ったときに相談しやすい場所を増やしたいと考えています。

The government wants to increase the number of places where children can easily get advice when they are in trouble.

学校の先生や家族が、子どもの話をよく聞くことも大切だと言われています。

It is also said to be important for school teachers and families to listen carefully to what children say.

悩んでいる人は、電話やインターネットで相談することができます。

People who are troubled can get advice by phone or on the internet.