On December 16th, there was a cleaning event for dinosaur skeletal samples at Gifu Prefectural Museum in the city of Seki. This was held so the dinosaurs could happily welcome the New Year. A group of 15 children from a nearby day care carefully brushed the dino skulls. The kids were taught to clean "gently, like petting." They removed a year's worth of dust and made the dinosaur specimens clean.

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.