Ryukyu Shimpo article “Okinawa Rail Released” used in fifth grade Japanese language textbook

Ryukyu Shimpo article “Okinawa Rail Released” used in fifth grade Japanese language textbook

The Ryukyu Shimpo Article “Yanbaru Kuina Hocho Kunigami” as it appears in the textbook Hirogaru Kotoba Shogaku Kokugo Go-Jou.


October 16, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Newspaper Week began on October 15. A Ryukyu Shimpo article, “Yanbaru Kuina Hocho Kunigami Kotsu Jiko de Chiryo Kaifuku” (Okinawa Rail Released in Kunigami, Treated and Recovered After Traffic Accident, July 5, 2017, Local News) is used in Hirogaru Kotoba Shogaku Kokugo Go-Jou, a Japanese Language textbook for fifth grade released by Kyoiku Shuppan (Tokyo) and used throughout Japan since spring. The textbook is being used in elementary schools throughout the country, including multiple schools in Okinawa. Articles from four national newspapers are featured in the textbook, but Ryukyu Shimpo is the only local paper to appear.

The article is used in the lesson “Let’s Make an Information Notebook,” which introduces ways to collect and organize information. The article describes the release of an Okinawa rail (yanbaru kuina) that was hit by a vehicle on a prefectural road in Kunigami and then protected. The article also presents calls by the NPO Dobutsutachi-no-byoin-Okinawa (Animal Hospital Okinawa) for everyone to be more careful when driving, which were prompted by large numbers of accidents involving Okinawa rails.

The article is presented in the textbook as though it was cut out of the newspaper. Pupils are instructed to underline new things they learned or parts they had questions about. They are also told to make note of their source when they compile information in their Information Notebook. A representative of Kyoiku Shuppan explains the reason they chose the article. “It’s a story with a lot of depth. It will lead students to notice environmental problems and other social issues and to form their own opinions of how to solve problems. Because of this, we thought it was an appropriate article to include in the textbook.”

The Ryukyu Shimpo Article “Yanbaru Kuina Hocho Kunigami” as it appears in the textbook Hirogaru Kotoba Shogaku Kokugo Go-Jou.


(English translation by T&CT and Ellen Huntley)

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