Justsystem Co., Ltd.
“Elementary school students’ choice” “Kanji of the Year (R)” No. 1 for the second consecutive year is “Raku”-Top 5 are “Raku”, “Two”, “Sad”, “Battle” and “New”-
This is revealed from the data of Smile Seminar elementary school students who applied for “Kanji of the Year (R)” sponsored by the Japan Kanji Proficiency Test Association.
Even elementary school students can feel the influence of news in Japan and overseas. “Ni” means “Adult age has dropped two years from 20 to 18”. “Sad” and “war” means “there were many wars and sad incidents.” Among them, it turned out that it was “a year where I found the joy and fun of meeting people”.
[Image 1
[Image 2
2022 “Kanji of the Year (R)” No. 1 “Sen” Image provided by: Japan Kanji Proficiency Test Association
On December 12th (Monday), the Kanken Association announced that the Kanji of the Year (R) ranked first. It showed that there was also a familiar battle in life due to high prices. Under such circumstances, it became clear that the children “found the joy and pleasure of meeting people while various activities were resumed, while being interested in the news happening in Japan and overseas.” I was. Masaya Yamada, the general manager of the Kanji of the Year (R) by the Japan Kanji Proficiency Testing Association, said that 2022 will be a year in which many people are worried about shocking incidents at home and abroad, as well as the effects of the sudden depreciation of the yen and rising prices. year,” he recalls.
■ “Raku” was ranked first in “Kanji of the Year (R)” chosen by elementary school students for the second year in a row. What are the trends this year?
The top five were “Raku”, “Two”, “Sad”, “Battle”, and “New”, and even elementary school students could feel the impact of domestic and international news. As a reason for selecting elementary school students, the first place, “Raku,” was given the opinion that “activity restrictions due to the new coronavirus have been eased, and there have been more fun events.” “Ni” means “the age of adulthood has dropped two years from 20 to 18”; It was for the reason that From the result that “Raku” was ranked first for the second year in a row, it seems that children are finding joy in new discoveries and experiences every day.
■ Reason for selection (Original text below)
[1st place: “Raku”]
・ Everyone is looking forward to being able to go to various places freely again after life is gone, and I have noticed the joy of being at home as I spend more time at home. (5th grade)
・Because I’m happy to have made new friends as a senior, studying is fun, I’m happy to receive a lot of Hanamaru from my teacher, and school is fun. (small 1)
・ I met my grandma and grandpa who live in Aomori Prefecture for the first time in a long time. (4th grade)
[2nd place: “two”]
・ This year I used 2 a lot in 2022, so I made it 2. (small 1) ・ There are many numbers “two”, and there are various “2”s such as “2” for ages 20 to 18. (3rd grade)
・ My son’s age is two years old. (6th grade)
[3rd place: “Sadness”]
・ A lot of people lost their lives in Ukraine because of the disaster. Every time I see a broken house on TV, I always wonder, “How could something like this happen?” (2nd grade)
・ Many lives were lost when Russia began to invade Ukraine. Also, there were many things that shook the world, such as former Prime Minister Abe being expelled. (4th grade)
・ I was sad because I couldn’t get all my classmates together at school. (6th grade)
[4th place: “Battle”]
・ I never thought that a war would happen somewhere while I was alive. (6th grade)
・ Because I fought a lot of things. Also, because I fought with Corona. And I want to keep fighting. (3rd grade)
・ Because we are fighting against Corona and Russia is also at war. I am also battling the test. (5th grade)
[5th place: “New”]
・Since the One Piece song “New Era” was popular this year, I chose Shin Eki no Shin. (6th grade)
・This year, with the SDGs, I feel like the world is gradually becoming new (2nd grade).
・Because the West Kyushu Shinkan Line was a kaigyo (4th grade) Mr. Masaya Yamada of the Japan Kanji Proficiency Test Association commented as follows.
“Raku” was ranked first for the second year in a row. As reasons for choosing it, there were many comments that cited the removal of restrictions on movement due to the corona disaster and familiar events. You can see that the children enjoyed their daily lives even though there were many shocking incidents and news in Japan and overseas. Many children participated in the “Kanji of the Year (R)” event again this year. Through the application, I think that I thought about kanji and looked it up. I would be very happy if many children could feel the fun of kanji. ”
[Profile of Mr. Masaya Yamada, Executive Officer, Japan Kanji Proficiency Test Association]
After graduating from university, worked at a domestic manufacturer before joining the Kanken Association in 2005. Engaged mainly in Japanese language proficiency development activities such as the spread of “Kanken” and commercialization of “Sentence Reading Comprehension and Writing Ability Test (Written Examination)”. Currently, he supervises the promotion and enlightenment department including enlightenment activities such as “Kanji of the Year”. ■ “Elementary school student’s choice” “News of the year”
[Table 2: https://prtimes.jp/data/corp/7597/table/506_1_28901e35b14fbd7880a577f2655f8232.jpg ]
We also conducted a survey on the “news of the year” that particularly caught our attention. While fun and sad topics ranked in, there was also a high level of interest in overseas news such as the war in Ukraine, the activities of Otani, and the hiatus of the Korean idol group BTS.
* Conducted from November 10 to 16, 2022 for members in grades 3 to 6. 39,541 valid responses.
Efforts of the Smile Seminar
Smile Seminar has received the Kanken Encouragement Award for 9 consecutive years. no Hanken
[Image 3
While focusing on “learning how to write”, such as conducting a campaign that allows students to take the test for free, we have focused on kanji. The pen used in the Smile Seminar has a 1.7mm nib that allows you to hold your hand firmly on the special tablet when writing, so it is possible to write even small characters such as the kanji “stop” and “harai”. In addition, for the questions given on the tablet, we will judge whether you have written the answer in polite letters and point it out, so you will acquire the habit of writing letters firmly. As a result, 95.9%* of Smile Seminar members pass the Kanken. Smile Seminar will continue to support children’s “learning to write” and provide them with the fun of writing kanji.
*Smile Seminar Elementary school course members’ pass rate of the 2nd Japan Kanji Proficiency Test in 2020 (elementary school grade/counted by rounding to the first decimal place)
About Smile Seminar
“Smile Seminar” was launched in 2012 as the first correspondence course in Japan for preschoolers, elementary school students, junior high school students, and high school students to learn using tablets. All courses focus on “learning to write”, and because you can write in the same way as learning on paper, you can get a high-quality learning effect without stress. In the infant course, a system that allows children to enjoy learning on their own, in the elementary school course, a cycle that promotes learning habits and textbook-based learning, and in the junior high school course, each student can learn with an optimal learning plan and teaching materials. Learning”, and in the high school student course, we provide the “now” necessary learning according to the child’s growth, such as a function that presents a learning plan until the “Strategic AI Coach” passes the desired university. In addition, since all the child’s learning status and understanding are shared on the parent’s smartphone, it is possible to watch over while keeping an appropriate distance. * “Kanji Ken”, “Kanji Kentei” and “Kanji of the Year” are registered trademarks of the Japan Kanji Proficiency Testing Association. * Company names and product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of each company.
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000506.000007597.html