Yasashii Nihongo (“Easy Japanese”) is gaining ground as a way to convey information clearly to foreign residents in Japan. It has become an important tool for communication during disasters.
Easy Japanese uses simpler wording by replacing difficult terms with shorter sentences and reducing the use of kanji, making information easier for everyone to understand.
For example, 避難して(hinan shite, “Please evacuate”) becomes にげて(nigete, “Get away”) and 無料 (muryo, “Free of charge”) becomes お金はいりません (okane wa irimasen, “You don’t need to pay”), with the latter written mostly in hiragana rather than kanji.
From Disaster Response to Everyday Use
During the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, many foreign residents were unable to understand emergency earthquake alerts and evacuation instructions, leaving them particularly vulnerable.
This prompted efforts across the country to develop Easy Japanese. In 2020, the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Immigration Services Agency compiled guidelines.
Local governments and private organizations have since worked to promote its use. It is now also used on signs at stores, public facilities, and museums.
Kumamoto Quake
Easy Japanese is also being used in areas affected by the Kumamoto Earthquake that struck in July.
A Tokyo-based nonprofit organization set up a relief supply distribution center for foreign residents in the town of Hikawa on August 8.
A banner at the center read, ものをくばるところ (mono o kubaru tokoro, “A place where things are handed out”).
A local staff member said, “Many foreigners, including Indonesians living in the area, saw the banner and stopped by the distribution center. Some people came after seeing a photo of the banner posted online.”
A banner at a relief supply distribution center for foreign residents affected by the earthquake, set up by the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan in Hikawa, Kumamoto Prefecture. (Courtesy of AAR Japan)
Growing Demand
A survey by a foundation promoting the use of Easy Japanese found that 41.3% of foreign residents in Tokyo with basic Japanese skills who had lived there for five years or less wanted to read information in the simplified language.
This was higher than the figures for English (35.9%) and their native languages (7.5%). Including those who preferred conventional Japanese, more than half said they wanted information to be provided in Japanese.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Makoto Chiba, The Sankei Shimbun
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