Local fire corps played an active role in rescues and evacuations during the Noto Peninsula earthquake this past January, and their efforts were a reminder of the important role they play in Japanese society. But there is currently a shortage of members nationwide. Follow along as we listen to the story, spotlight the city of Yokohama's efforts to welcome international residents into their fire corps, and learn the difference between "tetsudau" (to help out) and "tasukeru" (to rescue).
Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News."
Join us as we learn Japanese and about the country through Japanese news stories.
Our headline for today is:
Japan Facing Shortage of Volunteer Firefighters.
"Shooboodan" are deployed in the event of a fire or disaster.
The members are all volunteers who live or work in the area.
Yeah, there are also volunteer firefighters in the U.S. as well,
and it's really awesome what they do for their community - it's very important.
Definitely.
Now, before we listen to the news story in Japanese, let's go over some key terms.
"saigai"
disaster or calamity
"katsudoo"
activity
"hinan-suru"
to evacuate or take shelter.
All right, try to follow along.
Members of (volunteer) fire corps usually have other jobs,
but when a fire or disaster occurs nearby, they help put out fires and rescue townspeople.
In the case of the Noto Peninsula earthquake,
about 600 fire corps members were active in the cities of Wajima and Suzu in Ishikawa Pref.
They helped people take shelter from the tsunami and rescued people from collapsed homes.
They also repaired roads and patrolled towns, which they usually do not do.
But recently, fewer people are joining (volunteer) fire corps.
Internal affairs minister Matsumoto urged cities and towns across Japan
to increase the number of members in their fire corps in case of disasters.
Back in 1954, fire corps in Japan had about 2 million members.
But the numbers have been declining, down to about 760,000 as of 2022.
It must be tough to balance a day job with fire corps training and duties.
OK, let's review the following sentence from the story.
They helped people take shelter from the tsunami and rescued people from collapsed homes.
Now read along with me.
"tsunami kara hinan-suru no o tetsudattari
kowareta ie kara hito o tasuketari shimashita."
The keywords here are "tetsudau" and "tasukeru."
Yeah, these two words have quite similar meanings, don't they.
Yes.
They both refer to doing something for someone else.
"Tetsudau" is helping someone out with a task or activity.
"Tasukeru" is saving someone who has a problem or is in a jam.
Take a look at this.
This man looks like he could use some help cooking.
What would he say to this woman?
Probably...
"Ryoori o tetsudatte kudasai."
Please help me with the cooking.
Correct.
"Ryoori o tetsudatte kudasai."
(Please help me with the cooking.)
We use it in daily life, for example, "Chotto tetsudatte kudasai."
How about this?
What did the woman do?
"Michi ni mayotta hito o tasukemashita."
(She helped someone who was lost.)
Correct.
"Michi ni mayotta hito o tasukemashita."
(She helped someone who was lost.)
When we take action to help someone in trouble, we use "tasukemashita."
Right, so, the verb "tasukeru" can be used not just in life-or-death situations,
but in everyday situations as well.
Exactly.
Saying "I can't do this task alone, 'tasukete kudasai'"
sounds more urgent than "Tetsudatte kudasai."
Bite-Size Japan.
So Japan is facing a nationwide shortage of volunteer firefighters.
Now, are local fire corps open to international residents?
Yes, there are some conditions, but they're open to all nationalities who live in Japan.
Here's a graph that shows the number of non-Japanese members nationwide.
In 2023, there were 479, which is a nearly 80 percent increase since they began tracking data in 2020.
That's a significant increase over four years.
To learn more, we visited a fire corps in Yokohama city.
The area is home to a significant number of international residents.
Take a look.
Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture has about 110,000 international residents.
In 2021, the fire corps in Minami ward formed a new unit comprised of Chinese and Korean members
along with Japanese members who speak English.
During a disaster, the language barrier can be an issue.
We formed this unit so that residents can be safe and have peace of mind.
Kim Jung-Soon, originally from South Korea, was one of the founding members.
She moved here 14 years ago and runs a Korean restaurant.
Kim's unit does not perform firefighting duties.
Instead, they mainly provide support with teaching international residents about disaster prevention.
Should a disaster occur, they are expected to serve as interpreters.
Kim trains hard week in and week out, so she can be of service to her neighbors.
If you don't understand Japanese, it's easy to panic.
But I'll be there to calm them down, to instruct them in Korean.
Kim says that her fire corps activities have made her feel closer to her community.
I've made friends.
It's made life here so much more fun!
I'd very much like to see more international residents join!
Are there any issues that need to be addressed?
Well, right now, they're mostly tasked with providing evacuation guidance,
interpreting, and disaster prevention.
But the other duties they're allowed to perform vary between municipalities.
Japan's fire agency says it will set new guidelines before April 2025 to clarify their roles.
This sentence from the story contains another keyword.
It's "-tari" in "tetsudattari" and "tasuketari."
Yeah, you often hear "tari" used in daily conversation. Like...
"Ame ga futtari yandari shite imasu."
(It's raining on and off.)
"Ame ga futtari yandari shite imasu."
(It's raining on and off.)
"Ame ga futtari yandari" expresses the repetition of two opposing actions:
the rain "falling" and "letting up."
Another example would be
"rooka o ittari kitari suru."
(go back and forth down the hallway.)
Yes, you're repeating the actions "going" and "coming."
But what about the "tetsudattari" and "tasuketari" in our sentence?
So that case... it's not about repetition.
What they're saying is that the fire corps members
did things such as... helping people take shelter and saving people who needed rescuing.
Yes.
So here "tari" is used to give two examples out of the many different actions they take.
Right. They handle a range of tasks.
For instance, the story also includes the description,
When there's a fire, they (do things such as) help put it out and rescue people.
And they do a range of things at the scene of a fire, too.
If you ever come across a fire,
you should shout "Kaji da!" to warn others nearby.
Yes, that's a very important phrase to remember, because you don't always notice the fire at first,
and you want everybody to know as soon as possible, before it's too late.
Lastly, if you're in Japan and come across a fire,
keep calm and dial "hyaku-juu-kyuu-ban," or ONE-ONE-NINE, to report it.
All right, and that's all for today.
We'll see you next time.
See you soon.