NHKニュースで学ぶ現代英語 2024年12月勉強分①
人材確保めざす企業に賃上げの動き
< 見出し>SOME JAPANESE FIRMS OFFERING PAY RAISES BEYOND 5%
・pay raise：賃上げ
＝ pay inclease，pay hike
Some companies in Japan are promising pay increases higher than Rengo’s goal.
・pay increase：賃上げ
＝ pay raise，pay hike
They’ve announced their offers well ahead of the next spring negotiations in an attempt to retain current workers and attract new hires.
・in an attempt to ～ ：～しようと試みて、～しようと企てて
Nojima runs a home-appliance retail chain.
It plans to raise its base wages in January for the third year in a row for its workforce of around 3,000.
・workforce：労働力、従業員
Employees at stores and call centers can expect an additional monthly allowance of up to 25,000 yen, or about 167 dollars, starting in April.
That works out to a total raise of around 7 percent.
・work out to ～ ：計算すると～ということになる
Suntory Holdings has announced a hike of similar scale for next spring.
It would be the third year in a row for the beverage maker to give raises.
・give a raise：昇給する、賃上げする
Attention is focused on whether other major firms will follow suit.
・follow suit：「（トランプで）前のカードと同じマークのカードを出す」→「後に続く、先例にならう、追随する、同じ措置を講じる」
The trend may also spread to small and medium-sized firms, where pay raises have tended to be relatively small.
東京メトロ 株式上場
< 見出し>TOKYO METRO SOARS IN JAPAN’S BIGGEST IPO SINCE 2018
・soar：急騰する、急上昇する
A major Japanese subway operator had a red-hot stock market debut.
・red-hot：赤くなるほどに熱せられた鉄を連想させるイメージ →「（時流に乗って人気や需要が高いという意味での）熱い」
Shares of Tokyo Metro surged on their first day of trading that marked the country’s biggest initial public offering since 2018.
・share：株、株式
・surge：急騰する
・initial public offering：新規株式公開、株式市場公開（IPO）
The company listed on Wednesday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s top-tier Prime Market division.
・tier：層、階層
・top-tier：一流の、一級の、大手の
Half of the company’s shares went up for sale, with the rest held by the central and metropolitan governments.
・go up for sale：売りに出る、売りに出される
・central government：「中央政府」→「国」
・（Tokyo） Metropolitan Government：（東京）都
Investors poured in buy orders from the opening bell.
The price soared over 30 percent in an hour, reaching 1,630 yen, or about 11 dollars.
The company ended the day at about 1,740 yen, giving it a valuation of 1 trillion yen, or 6.5 billion dollars.
・valuation：評価額
The firm makes about 90 percent of its sales from its transit system.
Executives have accelerated a push into real estate to diversify the business.
・push：推し進めること、推進、進出
・diversify：多様化させる
デパート各社 来年の福袋発表
< 見出し>JAPAN 'LUCKY BAGS’ AIMED AT COST-CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS
・～-conscious：～意識の高い
※例） budget-conscious：予算を気にかける、calorie-conscious：カロリーを気にする、environment-conscious：環境意識の高い
Department store operators in Japan have unveiled a variety of traditional New Year’s bargain packages for 2025.
Past fukubukuro, or “lucky bags,” often contained clothing or household items.
Many of the latest ones will offer daily food staples to cater to cost-conscious consumers amid rising prices.
・staple：主食、基本食品
・cater to ～：（ニーズ、要望、需要などに）応える
A department store in Tokyo will offer a lucky bag for about 3,000 yen, or 20 dollars, with cooking oil, packaged rice, and other food items whose prices are soaring.
It will also conduct a 5,000-yen lottery.
Entrants could win sushi and steak meat worth up to four times the ticket price.
・entrant：参加者
※cf. enter a lottery：くじ（抽選）に参加する
The store operator says 80 percent of its lucky bags will contain food products.
Another Tokyo department store plans to offer a 10,000-yen coupon, which will give its recipient one piece of bread a day from its bakery for 60 days.
・ recipient：受け手
船井電機 破産手続き開始決定
< 見出し>FUNAI ELECTRIC TO BEGIN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
・bankruptcy proceedings：破産手続き
※cf. file for bankruptcy：破産を申請する、破産を申し立てる
Japanese electronics maker Funai Electric received court approval Thursday to begin bankruptcy proceedings.
The money-losing company was once known for selling its products around the world.
・money-losing：損失を出している、採算の取れない、赤字の
The Osaka-based company was established in 1961 and has made TVs, videotape players, printers, air conditioners, and other products.
In 2000, the firm was listed on the former first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The company’s website says it began manufacturing liquid crystal display TVs in 2002, and the products once had a top share in the North American market.
・manufacture：製造する
・liquid crystal display：液晶ディスプレイ（LCD）
But its business deteriorated amid increased competition with Chinese makers and other rivals.
・deteriorate：悪化する、低下する [ditíəriərèitəd]
In 2021, the company went under the umbrella of a Tokyo-based publishing firm and was delisted.
・go under the umbrella of ～：～の傘下に入る
・delist：上場廃止にする
※cf. unlisted：（企業が）非上場の、（株式が）未公開の
Funai reported a net loss of 13.1 billion yen, or about 86 million dollars for the year ending March 2024 in an August statement.
・the year ending March 2024：2024年3月までの会計年度（2024年3月期）
・statement：決算書、財務諸表
Total liabilities stood at 46.1 billion yen, or over 303 million dollars.
・liability：負債、債務
・stand at ～：（数値などが）～の値である
※例) The score stood at 2-2 at halftime.「ハーフタイムの時点でスコアは２対２だった」
富山の企業 バリに生ごみ処理プラント
< 見出し>JAPANESE FIRM TURNING INDONESIA’S WASTE INTO RESOURCE
A Japanese company has set up a waste treatment plant on the Indonesian island of Bali to help tackle the country’s dire waste management problem.
・waste treatment：廃棄物処理、ごみ処理
・dire：深刻な、悲惨な、切迫した、ひどい、切実な
The World Bank reports that Indonesia is ranked fifth globally in the volume of solid waste, with about 70 percent being sent to landfills.
・solid waste：固形廃棄物（家庭やオフィス、産業・活動などによって生み出されたごみや廃棄物）
・landfill：埋め立て地
※land「土地」＋fill「埋める」
Many Indonesian cities lack waste treatment facilities.
Amid these circumstances, a company based in Toyama City in central Japan has set up a treatment facility in Bali’s Badung Prefecture.
・circumstance：環境、状況
The plant will turn waste into compost for farming and other purposes.
・compost：堆肥、培養土
A completion ceremony was held on Tuesday.
・completion：完成、完了
“People here are very prepared to dispose of waste by themselves. And I’m very glad that I was able to help them. I would be happy if the idea that waste should be turned into a resource spreads in Indonesia.”
・dispose of ～：～を処分する、処理する
The area’s landfill has already exceeded its capacity.
The new facility is expected to reduce the need for waste disposal.