More and more Japanese railway companies are introducing an AI-powered search system that makes it easier for customers to recover items that they lost or left behind on trains or at stations. Users enter details into a messaging app, which the system cross-checks with information in a lost-and-found database. Follow along as we review the story, learn helpful phrases, and go through practice scenarios for inquiring about lost items.
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:
New AI-Powered System Helps Customers Find Lost Items.
Once I lost my IC card on a train.
I was so freaked out, but some nice person took it to the lost and found,
and I was able to get it back within 24 hours; it's amazing!
Right!
In Japan, you're taught from a young age
to turn in any lost items you find to the authorities.
Right!
Now, before we listen to the story in Japanese, let's go over some key terms.
"apuri."
app.
"shisutemu."
system.
"otoshimono."
lost item.
All right, try to follow along.
There is a system that uses a messaging app and AI
to make it easier to find items that have been lost or left behind at train stations or on trains.
A growing number of railway companies are using this new system.
The system involves the user sending a message
that includes details such as when, where, and what kind of item they lost.
They can then look at the lost-and-found data to see if the item they lost is there or not.
If you lose an item such as a bag or wallet, you can send in a photo of an item that is identical to yours,
and the AI will search for similar-looking items in the database.
A railway company, that recently started using this system, says it receives about 200,000 inquiries a year about lost belongings.
That is a lot of things.
But I think it really speaks to Japan's reputation as a country where, if you lose something, you're likely to get it back.
Mm-hmm.
OK, let's review the following sentence from the story.
They can then look at the lost-and-found data to see if the item they lost is there or not.
Now read along with me.
"otoshimono no deeta o mite jibun ga nakushita mono ga aru ka doo ka shiraberu koto ga dekimasu."
In today's story, we heard the word "mono" many times.
What "mono" refers to differs based on context and what it modifies.
The "mono" in "otoshimono"
refers to items lost on the street, on a train, in a public facility, etc.
For example, this illustration depicts "otoshimono no saifu." (a wallet that someone dropped)
So, the key point is that the person found the item in a public place, so they have no idea whom it belongs to.
So if you misplaced your wallet at home, you wouldn't call that "otoshimono."
Good point.
So let's say you came across a wallet on the street.
Chiara, what would you do?
Well, if I found an item on the street, I would go to a "kooban," so, a small neighborhood police station.
What would you say at the "kooban?"
"Eeto..." something like:
I found a wallet on the street.
Good answer.
OK. Now, what if you realized that you'd lost something?
What would you say to the police?
In that case... I've lost something.
"Otoshimono o shimashita."
Yes. It's important to clearly convey why you're there.
We also use "mono" to refer to categories of things.
For example:
"tabemono" means "food," and
"norimono" means "vehicle."
We use it in daily life
when we want to say that anything from that category will do.
Chiara, please write your name on this.
Please give me something to write with.
"Nani ka 'kakumono' o kashite kudasai."
Ah, so basically you use "mono" to refer to an entire class of items.
Exactly!
Other examples are "okurimono" and "mochimono."
There are many "-mono" expressions we use in daily life. Listen out for them!
Bite-Size Japan.
This railway company introduced the lost-and-found search system last year to great success.
Previously, they received a total of about 190,000 inquiries a year, with around 500 phone inquiries per day.
With the new service, users fill out basic information on a messaging app.
They can also upload a photo of their item or a similar-looking one.
Additional details can be submitted via the chat function.
On the other end, station staff register recovered items in a database.
The AI-powered search system then cross-checks text descriptions and images with info in the database.
It narrows down candidates and displays them in order of relevance.
If there is a likely match, station staff contact the user.
Thanks to this system, phone inquiries have been reduced by 30%.
Response time has also been shortened, and the number of returned items has tripled.
We've been returning more items
and receiving many grateful messages from customers.
The company also responds to inquiries, and provides guidance in English and multiple other languages via chat.
To better serve international visitors, we are considering rolling out
a browser-based inquiry system at the end of 2024.
That is really neat.
And I think that they could use this in so many different places, like, moving forward, they might be able to use it at "kooban,"
or event venues, or resorts — these places where lots of people lose things.
Yes.
Now let's learn useful expressions for when you've lost something.
The key information is "itsu," "doko de," "donna mono o."
We'll practice how to describe the object clearly.
Now, one of the most common items that people lose are smartphones.
I'll pretend to be the attendant at the lost and found.
Chiara, pretend you've lost this smartphone.
Tell me when, where, and what you lost.
OK, so, for example:
Around 8 a.m., I left my smartphone on a chair on the station platform.
"asa hachi-ji goro."
"hoomu no isu ni."
"sumaatofon o."
It's helpful if you can be as specific as possible about the time and place.
OK, please describe the smartphone to me.
The case is shaped like a notebook.
"Keesu wa techoo no 'yoo na' katachi desu."
So the "yoo na" in "techoo no yoo na" is helpful
when you want to liken something to an item the person knows.
Could you describe the color?
Oh, this is one of those hard colors, but it's... a greenish color, so...
The color is greenish.
Yes.
"Iro was midori-'ppoi' desu."
The "-ppoi" in "midori-ppoi" is a way to say the color is like a certain color.
The more descriptive you are, the better!
Now keep in mind that storage periods can vary.
Railway companies, for example, will generally keep items for between 2 days up to a week.
Then they turn it over to the police.
All right, and that's it for today.
Until next time!
"Mata oai shimasho."
(See you soon.)
Bye!