Reading a newspaper in your target language is the goal of any language learner.

While Japanese newspapers can be intimidating to new learners, you will be surprised to find that they aren't as difficult as they seem. As with most other countries, Japanese newspapers have a set of rules. The headline structure, grammar, and even the kanji. Once you learn how these rules are used, Japanese newspapers can become a great learning resource for even a lower intermediate learner.

Some of you might be saying “You are crazy! I picked up a newspaper before and I didn’t understand ANY of it!” I will give you that the vocabulary can be complicated. Due to the nature of the topics in Japanese newspapers, even the most advanced students will still have to look up words once in awhile. But the grammar is simple, and newspapers are restricted to only using the 常用漢字（じょうようかんじ）which is a set list of 2,136 kanji that most Japanese people are familiar with.

Japanese newspapers also use a lot of katakana words, abbreviations, and simple vocab when they can. This makes reading much easier for those of us still learning the language.

In a cruel twist, the hardest part to understand for Japanese learners are the headlines. Once you know what the article is about, you can gain interest in the topic and increase your understanding while reading. But first we have to figure out just what the heck is going on in Japanese newspaper headlines. Because they have to be short and to the point, most headlines have some kind of abbreviation. I want to go over 5 types of these abbreviations so you can be, hopefully, less confused when picking up a newspaper.

1.) Removing particles and する

Omitting particles and other words is the easiest way to shorten a title. We do this in English as well if you think about it. A headline in an English newspaper might read: “Pigs die as houses are blown down.” This is a shortened sentence. The whole sentence might read: “Some pigs died as their houses were blown down.”

Here are some examples in Japanese:

伏見稲荷　外国人の心つかむ
ふしみ　いなり　がいこくじん　の　こころ　つかむ
Fushimi Inari (Shrine) captures hearts of foreigners
Literally: “Fushimi Inari + foreigners + の + heart + capture”

This headline is obviously shortened and particles are removed. Just as in a shortened English headline, it is perfectly easy to understand for Japanese speakers. Here is what the full headline might look like if it was written out completely:

伏見稲荷大社が外国人の心をつかみました。
ふしみ　いなり　たいしゃ　が　がいこくじん　の　こころ　を　つかみました。
Fushimi Inari (Shrine) has captured the heart of foreigners.
Literally: “Fushimi Inari + が + foreigners + の + heart + を + captured.

Here is another example:

富士山　世界遺産に決定
ふじさん　せかいいさん　に　けってい
Mount Fuji chosen as World Heritage (Site)
Literally: “ Mount Fuji + world heritage + に + decide

The full headline, if we were to add in the particles and verbs, might read:

富士山が世界遺産に決定されました。
ふじさん　が　せかいいさん　に　けってい　されました。
Mount Fuji has been chosen as a World Heritage (Site).
Literally: “Mount Fuji + が + world heritage + に + decide + has been done”

2.) ず- meaning ない

You may have run into this grammar point before, but it is often used in newspaper headlines as a shortened form of しません or ない.

５０人連絡取れず　伊豆大島土砂崩れ
ごじゅうにん　れんらくとれず　いずおおしま　どしゃくずれ
50 people out of reach, Izu Oshima (Island) landslide
Literally: “50 people + unable to contact + Izu Oshima + landslide”

For more clarity, the full title might read:

伊豆大島の土砂崩れで、５０人が連絡が取れない状態です。
いずおおしま　の　どしゃくずれ　で、ごじゅうにん　が　れんらく　が　とれない　じょうたい　です。
Due to the landslide on Izu Oshima (Island), 50 people are unable to be reached.
Literally: “Izu Oshima + の + landslide + で + 50 people + で + contact + が + can’t be made + condition + です”

3.) へ - meaning movement

You might also be familiar with the particle へ to indicate movement. In headlines, へ usually indicates that somebody is moving towards doing something. In this case, they haven’t done it yet, but are considering it or planning it.

いよいよ水深８０００ｍへ
いよいよ　すいしん　はっせん　めーとる　へ
Increasing water depth to 8000 meters.
Literally: “increasingly // at last + water depth + 8000 + meters + へ”

The article is about a deep water probe that will try to reach 8000 meter depth into the ocean. As you can see へ is used to show that it is a plan and something they are striving toward.

4.) Country kanji

One of the most fascinating and interesting abbreviations in newspaper headlines are the specific kanji for names referencing countries. Because headlines need to be short, full country names are almost never used. A system was developed to give each country a kanji character. Some of the most common ones are:

日　にち　Japan
米　べい　America
英　えい　England
独　どく　Germany
仏　ふつ　France
韓　かん　South Korea
伊　い　Italy
加　か　Canada
露　ろ　Russia

These kanji are used in many clever ways. For example: Putting two of these kanji together in a headline indicates relations between the 2 countries.

慰安婦問題日韓合意
いあんふ　もんだい　にっかん　ごうい
An agreement on the “Comfort Women” Problem between Japan and South Korea
Literally: “Comfort women + problem + Japan and South Korea + agreement”

Or, they can be used to describe something happening in that specific country:

米自動車の街　破産
べいじどうしゃ　の　まち　はさん
America’s automobile town bankruptcy
Literally: “America + automobile + の + town + bankruptcy”

5.) Shortening the names of systems and institutions

Lastly, the names of systems and institutions in Japan can be quite long, and are often shortened for newspapers. Here are some common ones you might run into:

日教組（にっきょうそ）
→　日本教職員組合（にほん　きょうしょくいん　くみあい）
→　Japan Teacher's Union

全学連（ぜんがくれん）
→　全日本学生自治会連合（ぜんにほん　がくせい　じちかい　れんごう）
→　All Japan Federation of Student Self-Government Associations

自民（じみん）
→　自由民主党（じゆうみんしゅとう）
→　Liberal Democratic Party

厚労省（こうろうしょう）
→　厚生労働省（こうせいろうどうしょう）
→　Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare

For example:

自民支持が３１％　他党を大きくリード
じみん　しじ　が　さんじゅういち　パーセント　たとう　を　おおきく　りーど
Liberal Democratic Party support has a huge lead on other parties at 31%
Literally: “Liberal Democratic Party + support + が + 31 + percent + other parties + を + big + lead”

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Now that we went over these 5 tips, I am pretty sure you will be able to understand some newspaper headlines and then find some articles that interest you.

The best way I have found to read a newspaper is to find something that you want to read about and then make a simple 5 W’s question list for yourself. Who, What, Where, When and Why. From there, read the article and see if you can write down simple answers to these questions in Japanese.To get you started on your newspaper reading journey, I recommend NHK’s News Web Easy.
This is a news site with current articles in easy Japanese that is updated often. They even have audio and a function that lets you see the furigana for kanji you might not be familiar with. Give it a try!

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This lesson was written by Cassy L., a guest contributor: