July 23 marked "Taisho," the day considered the hottest of the year on the traditional Japanese calendar. Sprinkling water on the ground to help reduce the heat is known as "uchimizu." In Tokyo's Roppongi district, an event was held where people gathered to take part in uchimizu. Participants sprinkled water from plastic bottles and checked its effect. The event used water that had been used once in the city and then purified.

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.