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Japan Population Falls Again- Story and Quiz

Story and Quiz Below

 

The population of Japan has fallen by over three million in the past five years. This is the largest drop since records began in 1920. Japan’s internal affairs ministry has released preliminary figures for its 2025 census. This demographic survey is conducted every five years. The latest one reveals that the number of residents in October 2025 was 123,049,524. This was a drop of 3,096,575 from the 2020 survey — a fall of 2.5 per cent. The census is the third in a row to show a decrease. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary said: “It was confirmed again that the population decline is advancing even further.” He vowed to promote “comprehensive measures” to address the downturn.

The government attributed the decline to various factors. These included historically low birth rates. In 2025, there were around 706,000 births in Japan. This compared to around 2.5 million annual births during the postwar baby boom. Successive governments have introduced many measures to encourage couples to have babies. They have expanded child allowances, increased parental leave, and subsidized early years education. However, these have had little success. Japan is one of the world’s oldest societies. The increasingly greying population is putting considerable strain on healthcare systems, pensions, and the labor force.

Source:  breakingnewsenglish.com©

Photo credit:  Tokyo. (Mainichi)

The Quiz

Read each paragraph and select the best answer for each word.

ANSWERS
VOCABULARY (p.4)
1. c 2. e 3. d 4. a 5. f 6. g 7. b

8. k 9. h 10. i 11. n 12. m 13. j 14. l

Happy Father’s Day

Father’s Day is a perfect time to celebrate the dads, grandfathers, and father figures who shape our lives with strength, love, and quiet dedication. This meaningful holiday honors the men who guide, teach, support, and inspire us, whether through big life lessons or small everyday moments.

Father’s Day is Universal

Father’s Day is celebrated all around the world to say thank you to dads. An old English proverb tells how important fathers are. It says: “A father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” Many of us perhaps think our father is even more important. There is no age limit for the person saying thank you, nor for the dad. There is no universal date when every country celebrates Father’s Day. In many countries it is on the third Sunday in June.

Most fathers receive presents and cards and perhaps even a special dinner. The day has a special punctuation point. The apostrophe is placed before the ‘s’. This means we all think about our own father. Of course, if the apostrophe was placed after the ‘s’, we would be honoring all the fathers in the world.

How Father’s Day Started

Father’s Day historians believe the day started in Washington state in the USA. A lady called Sonora Dodd was sitting in church one Sunday in 1909, listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day. She decided it was only fair to also have a day for fathers. In 1910, she arranged a special church service to say thank you for own father.

The idea took off very slowly. U.S. Presidents. from Calvin Coolidge in 1926 to Richard Nixon in 1972, supported the idea. Nixon started the permanent official Father’s Day in June 1972. Today it is a major holiday. It has become extremely commercialized, which is good and bad. The shops are so full of Father’s Day stuff, it is almost impossible to forget when the day is.

How do you celebrate the day?

Graphic by Pixaby©

Related:  Happy Father’s Day – TUTORING YOU

Find your Passion

 

You’ve made lists. You’ve asked your friends for advice. You’ve tried journaling and you’ve analyzed every thought you’ve ever had. Yet, you’re still asking yourself, “what is my passion?”

That’s because passion comes from the heart, not the head. Chances are, you already know what your passion is. You just need to connect with it.

1. SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

For many, living a life of passion feels unrealistic. Because they feel this way, some people aren’t optimistic about changing. If you enter the journey to discover your passion with this mindset, you’re setting yourself up for failure. The only way to succeed in finding your passion for life is to shift your mindset to one of positivity and possibility. 

2. DISCOVER YOUR TOP HUMAN NEED

As human beings, we all have Six Human Needs: certainty, significance, variety, love/connection, growth and contribution. Life is a delicate balance between these, but we all have one top need that is most essential to our happiness. Discovering your driving force can give you a window into how to find your passion for life by showing you what you need most to feel fulfilled.

3. LOOK AT WHAT YOU LOVE

Look at your bookshelf, favorite movies or the last play you saw – is there a common theme? Think about your favorite summer job or the last time you got so caught up in a project, you completely lost track of time. Think about what you loved to do as a child – drawing, writing, dancing. So often, we give up our passions when we become adults because we think we have to grow into something we aren’t. This isn’t true. Tap into the activities and topics that used to fill you up when you were younger. 

4. NOTICE WHERE YOU SPEND YOUR FREE TIME

Your hobbies aren’t necessarily the same as your true passion, but they can provide a hint. If you spend a lot of your free time reading, your passion could involve writing, teaching or research – anything that feeds your mind the way reading does. If you enjoy fixing things around the house, your passion likely involves creating and building. If you enjoy dancing or exercising, you are probably drawn to movement and expression. Think deeper about your extracurriculars and you could uncover your passion.

Source: tonyrobbins.com©

 

But what if I don’t have one single passion?”

This is a really good question!

Some people feel the call of creativity to become artists or writers. Others are simply born to become astronauts or librarians. But there isn’t always one solitary beacon of passion guiding our lives. 

In fact, if you’re like most people, you may have held a lot of jobs in your lifetime, and your professional CV might look very different than how you spend your down time. Perhaps you’re a CEO of an energy company who likes to oil paint in her spare time (financial/admin/technical/creative), or a lobbyist who enjoys running marathons (enterprising/people service/mechanical). 

Many Roads can Lead to a Passion

You don’t have to be driven by one singular, solitary purpose to be successful and happy in your work. You simply need to find a career path that feels right, and that you are good at. 

In recruitment, we call this job fit. One way we measure job fit is by looking at a person’s interests and how well they align with the requirements of a particular job. Strong interest matches show how motivated individuals will be to perform different tasks, and how much enjoyment they may find in a particular role.

Assess Yourself

 Assess six possible interests. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive, and because interests can be satisfied outside of work similar to the examples above, the interests list makes for a lower percentage of the overall job fit score and might lead to a passion of sorts. The list includes:

  • Mechanical: the enjoyment of building or repairing things and working with machinery or tools. Individuals with this interest enjoy being outdoors, using their hands, and/or breaking a sweat.
  • People Service: the enjoyment of collaboration, compromise, and helping others. A strong sense of empathy and support and a knack for bringing people together.
  • Technical: enjoyment of learning technical material, interpreting complex information, and solving abstract problems. Individuals with this interest may enjoy working with numbers, data, and computer programs.
  • Enterprising: the enjoyment of leadership, presenting ideas, and persuading others. Individuals with this interest may desire responsibility, and exercise initiative, ambition, and resourcefulness.
  • Creative: enjoyment of imaginative and artistic activities. It involves artistic expression, emphasis on aesthetics, and novel ways of solving problems, producing ideas, and designing new things.
  • Financial/Admin: enjoyment of working with numbers, organizing information, and office routines such as record keeping and completing paperwork. It can indicate an eye for detail and a desire for accuracy.

 Finding a job that leads to genuine passion or fulfillment starts first with understanding yourself. What do you think your personal top three interests are from the list above? Once this is understood you can begin thinking strategically about finding a role where work doesn’t feel like work. It feels more like a calling.

What Should I do with my Life?

When you find yourself in a rut, it’s often unclear what needs to change. 

It can feel confusing to pinpoint where you’re at versus where you want to be. To get a clear idea of how to build a meaningful life, you first need to clarify what exactly needs to change. 

You may have a good-paying job, a loving family, and a supportive partner. On paper, your life looks great, but somehow you still feel unfulfilled. You go through the motions, but something is missing.

Sometimes in these cases, implementing change seems overwhelming. One problem piles on top of the next, and it feels like every day you constantly have to put out fires. When nothing goes right, you may feel frozen and scared to make the next move. 

Here is an infographic that may help you find the way.

Photo credit: Asierromero / Freepik

100 English Sentences Used in Daily Life

English is hard

The English language is frequently ranked among the hardest languages to master, especially for non-native speakers. English does not adhere to one core system of rules that would help language learners reason through the best word choice. This means students will need to rely on memorization and context instead. Common, daily use English sentences is an excellent way to start building a robust mental database.

Understanding and using common English sentences can significantly improve your interactions with others.

 

Related:  Advanced English Words – TUTORING YOU

Other Ways to Say, “For Example” Phrases in English

 

OK, not really easy, but well worth the effort to learn correctly!

What Does “For Example” Mean?

The phrase “for example” is used to introduce a specific instance, illustration, or sample that supports or explains a general statement. It helps readers understand concepts by providing concrete evidence, making it a key tool in explanatory writing, education, and logical reasoning.

When to Use “For Example”

Use “for example” when:

  • Clarifying abstract or complex ideas
  • Supporting arguments with evidence
  • Teaching or explaining concepts
  • Writing academic, professional, or instructional content
  • Making information more relatable and clearer

So, let’s learn some phrases that are other ways to say, “For Example”.

 

 

 

Ways to Say: For Example

 

The phrase “for example” is used to add clarity to a sentence. Use it to introduce a non-exhaustive list, describe a specific scenario, or emphasize that something is true. Set the phrase off with commas or parentheses to improve readability.

Spice up your vocabulary with these alternatives to “for example,”

 

Related:  Other Ways to Say, “For Example” Phrases in English – TUTORING YOU

Say This, Not That !

“Say this, not that” generally implies that one should express themselves in a specific way or use particular terminology, rather than another way. It’s a directive about the preferred language or manner of speaking. It often suggests that one incorrect way of speaking is to be avoided and another way is the correct way.

So, stop saying,” I think”.