The theme park Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in the city of Osaka announced on November 12 that it will open "Donkey Kong Country," a new area themed on Nintendo's popular game series, on December 11. On this day, "Mine Cart Madness," an unpredictable ride on a four-seater cart, was shown for the first time.

Japanese original

Easy Japanese news is taken from the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a newspaper for children. This is perfect material for anyone studying Japanese who has learned hiragana and katakana. We encourage beginners to read the article in English followed by Japanese, or vice versa, to test their comprehension.

A fresh set will be published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m., Japan time. Click/tap here for past installments.

Intermediate learners who do not need English assistance can directly access the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun site here. Furigana (hiragana) is added to all kanji in the text.