English news for Tuesday, September 1, 2026

On September 1, the government of Japan held a big earthquake^*1 drill^*2. September 1 is Disaster Prevention Day in Japan. Prime Minister^*3 Sanae Takaichi and all the ministers^*4 in her cabinet^*5 took part.

The drill imagined two very bad situations. In one, a big earthquake hits under Tokyo, the capital of Japan. In the other, big earthquakes happen in the Japan Trench and the Chishima Trench. These are deep places on the sea floor near Japan.

The prime minister walked to her office in Tokyo. There she led the first meeting of the government's emergency^*6 team and a special cabinet meeting. Then she spoke at a press conference^*7. She explained the earthquake in the drill and what the government was doing about it.

After that, she went to Atsugi, a city in Kanagawa, an area near Tokyo. Nine local governments were holding a drill together there. The prime minister set up a one-touch tent^*8 herself. She practiced CPR^*9 with an AED^*10. She watched people put out a fire with a fire blanket^*11. She also watched a drone^*12 carry supplies^*13 and watched a rescue^*14 drill.

At the closing ceremony^*15, she said, "This year, the Disaster Management Agency will finally start." She said the government and the people must work together to become stronger against disasters^*16.

1. *1 earthquake: a time when the ground shakes hard and buildings can fall
2. *2 drill: a practice for something dangerous, so people know what to do when it really happens
3. *3 Prime Minister: the leader of the government of a country
4. *4 ministers: the top people in a government, each in charge of one area, like health or money
5. *5 cabinet: the group of top people who lead a government
6. *6 emergency: a sudden and dangerous situation that needs fast help
7. *7 press conference: a meeting where a person answers questions from news reporters
8. *8 one-touch tent: a tent that opens very fast with one simple move
9. *9 CPR: pushing on a person's chest to help their heart when it has stopped
10. *10 AED: a small machine that gives an electric shock to start a person's heart again
11. *11 fire blanket: a special cloth you put over a small fire to stop it
12. *12 drone: a small flying machine with no pilot inside
13. *13 supplies: things people need, like food, water, and medicine
14. *14 rescue: saving people who are in danger or trapped
15. *15 ceremony: a formal event to mark a special moment
16. *16 disasters: very bad events, like big earthquakes or floods, that hurt many people

Many foreign people who live in Tokyo want to read information in Easy Japanese. This is the result of a survey^*1 by the Tokyo Tsunagari Foundation^*2, a public foundation in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. The foundation published a short version of its report on May 7, 2025.

The survey asked 373 foreign people who live in Tokyo. All of them came to Japan less than five years ago, and their Japanese was at a beginner level (N4 to N5^*3). The foundation asked them questions from March 1 to March 14, 2025.

Easy Japanese is Japanese with simple words and short sentences. It is made for people who are still learning the language. Most people in the survey knew about it. In all, 91.7 percent^*4 said they had heard of Easy Japanese.

The survey asked, "If there was a flyer^*5, which language would you want to read it in?" Easy Japanese was the top answer, with 41.3 percent. English came second, with 35.9 percent. Normal Japanese, the kind written for Japanese people, was third, with 15.3 percent.

The survey also asked about important information. Of the people asked, 71.3 percent said it would be better if important information came with an explanation in Easy Japanese. When the people who said such an explanation is necessary are added, the number is about 80 percent.

The short version of the report is on the foundation's website.

1. *1 survey: asking many people the same questions to learn what they think
2. *2 foundation: a group that uses money to help people or do useful work
3. *3 N4 to N5: the two easiest levels of the Japanese language test
4. *4 percent: a number out of 100; 50 percent means half
5. *5 flyer: a sheet of paper with information, given to many people