Easy Japanese news in translation: Hikonyan stars for first time in 20th anniversary film

Hikonyan, the beloved mascot of Hikone city in Shiga Prefecture, celebrated its 20th anniversary with the release of a special short film titled "Yume ni Mukatte" (Towards a Dream). This 14-minute film marked a milestone as Hikonyan took the starring role for the very first time ever. The film was made available on September 29, which is known in Japan as Maneki-neko Day, a day of good fortune due to the numerical coincidence of 9 and 29, which can be read as "kuru" (to come) and "fuku" (good fortune), respectively.

The Hikonyan Channel on YouTube hosted the film's release. Easy Japanese news sourced from the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a children's newspaper, makes this story accessible to those learning Japanese who have mastered hiragana and katakana. The article is recommended to be read in English first, then in Japanese, or vice versa, to gauge comprehension.

A new version of this simplified news will be published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4 p.m. Japan time. For previous editions, click here. Intermediate learners who prefer to read in Japanese without English assistance can directly visit the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun site. Furigana (small hiragana characters) are included beneath each kanji character to aid in pronunciation and reading.