Situation
田中さんと山田さんは会社の休憩室で昼食をとっています。今日のニュースについて話しています。特に最近話題になっている環境問題に関心があるようです。
Dialogue
田中: 山田さん、今日のニュース、もう見ましたか？
Tanaka: Yamada-san, kyō no nyūsu, mō mimashita ka?
Tanaka: Yamada-san, have you seen today's news yet?
山田: おはようございます、田中さん。はい、さっき見ましたよ。特に、例の環境問題の記事、気になりましたね。
Yamada: Ohayō gozaimasu, Tanaka-san. Hai, sakki mimashita yo. Toku ni, rei no kankyō-mondai no kiji, ki ni narimashita ne.
Yamada: Good morning, Tanaka-san. Yes, I just saw it. That environmental article really stuck with me.
田中: やっぱり気になりましたか。私も同じです。最近、毎日のように取り上げられていますよね。
Tanaka: Yappari ki ni narimashita ka. Watashi mo onaji desu. Saikin, mainichi no yō ni toriagerarete imasu yo ne.
Tanaka: It caught your attention too, huh? Same here. It's been in the news practically every day lately, hasn't it?
山田: ええ、本当に。特に、リサイクルの問題は、私たち一人ひとりができることがたくさんあると感じます。
Yamada: Ee, hontō ni. Toku ni, risaikuru no mondai wa, watashitachi hitori-hitori ga dekiru koto ga takusan aru to kanjimasu.
Yamada: Really. With recycling especially, I feel like there's a lot each of us can actually do.
田中: そうですね。私も、ゴミの分別をより意識するようになりました。小さなことからでも始めたいですよね。
Tanaka: Sō desu ne. Watashi mo, gomi no bunbetsu o yori ishiki suru yō ni narimashita. Chiisana koto kara demo hajimetai desu yo ne.
Tanaka: Exactly. I've gotten much more careful about sorting my trash. Small steps are still a start, right?
山田: うん。あと、電気自動車のニュースも興味深かったですよ。どんどん普及してほしいです。
Yamada: Un. Ato, denki-jidōsha no nyūsu mo kyōmibukakatta yo. Don-don fukyū shite hoshii desu.
Yamada: Yeah. The electric car story was interesting too. I really want to see those take off.
田中: ああ、あれですね！でも、まだちょっと値段が高いのがネックですよね。もっと安くなれば、考える人も増えると思うんですが。
Tanaka: Ā, are desu ne! Demo, mada chotto nedan ga takai no ga nekku desu yo ne. Motto yasuku nareba, kangaeru hito mo fueru to omoun desu ga.
Tanaka: Right, that one! But the price is still the sticking point, isn't it? Drop the cost and I think a lot more people would consider it.
山田: 確かにそうですね。でも、技術の進歩で、いつか手の届く価格になることを期待しています。
Yamada: Tashika ni sō desu ne. Demo, gijutsu no shinpo de, itsuka te no todoku kakaku ni naru koto o kitai shite imasu.
Yamada: Fair point. Still, I'm hoping that as technology advances, the price will eventually come within reach.
田中: そうですね。個人的には、新しいエネルギー源の開発ももっと進んでほしいです。ニュースで色々な研究が紹介されていますけど、実用化はいつになるんでしょうね。
Tanaka: Sō desu ne. Kojinteki ni wa, atarashii enerugī-gen no kaihatsu mo motto susunde hoshii desu. Nyūsu de iroiro na kenkyū ga shōkai sarete imasu kedo, jitsuyōka wa itsu ni narun deshō ne.
Tanaka: Agreed. Personally, I'd love to see new energy sources develop faster too. You hear about all these research projects in the news — but when will any of it actually be usable?
山田: 本当に。私たちは、未来のために、もっと真剣にこの問題に向き合うべきですね。
Yamada: Hontō ni. Watashitachi wa, mirai no tame ni, motto shinken ni kono mondai ni mukiau beki desu ne.
Yamada: No kidding. For the sake of the future, we really ought to take these issues more seriously.
田中: ええ、全く同感です。私も、自分ができることをもっと調べてみようと思います。
Tanaka: Ee, mattaku dōkan desu. Watashi mo, jibun ga dekiru koto o motto shirabete miyō to omoimasu.
Tanaka: Absolutely. I'm going to look into what I can actually do on my end.
山田: 私もです。こういうニュースは、考えさせられますね。じゃあ、そろそろ午後の仕事に戻りましょうか。
Yamada: Watashi mo desu. Kō iu nyūsu wa, kangaesaseraremasu ne. Jā, sorosoro gogo no shigoto ni modorimashō ka.
Yamada: Same. Stories like this really make you stop and think. Well, time to head back to the afternoon grind?
田中: はい、そうですね。また後で。
Tanaka: Hai, sō desu ne. Mata ato de.
Tanaka: Yeah, let's. See you later.
山田: はい、また。
Yamada: Hai, mata.
Yamada: See you.
Key Vocabulary
環境問題
kankyō-mondai
— environmental issue
記事
kiji
— article (in a newspaper or news site)
気になる
ki ni naru
— to be on one's mind; to catch one's attention
取り上げられる
toriagerareru
— to be covered; to be featured (in the news)
リサイクル
risaikuru
— recycling
ゴミの分別
gomi no bunbetsu
— trash sorting; waste separation
電気自動車
denki-jidōsha
— electric car
普及する
fukyū suru
— to spread; to become widespread
ネック
nekku
— bottleneck; sticking point
技術の進歩
gijutsu no shinpo
— technological advancement
期待する
kitai suru
— to hope for; to look forward to
エネルギー源
enerugī-gen
— energy source
実用化
jitsuyōka
— practical application; putting into actual use
真剣に
shinken ni
— seriously; in earnest
同感
dōkan
— agreement; feeling the same way
Grammar Notes
- 〜（の）ように: Expresses similarity or near-frequency. 「毎日のように」 means "almost every day" — not literally every single day, but close enough that it feels that way.
- 〜が気になる: The thing that catches your attention or lingers in your thoughts is marked with が. For example, 「記事が気になった」 means "the article stuck with me." Note that in casual speech the が is often dropped, as in the dialogue: 「例の記事、気になりましたね」.
- 〜べきだ: Indicates something "should" or "ought to" be done — stronger than ほうがいい, closer to a moral obligation. 「向き合うべき」 means "should face (the problem)."
- 〜てほしい: Expresses a wish for something to happen, often beyond your direct control. 「普及してほしい」 = "I want it to spread" — you can't make it happen yourself, but you hope it does.
- 〜んです / 〜んだ: Adds an explanatory or confirmatory nuance. It softens a statement and invites the listener to respond. 「増えると思うんですが」 sounds more conversational than 「増えると思います」.
- 〜させられる (causative passive): Means you are made to feel or do something — the feeling isn't chosen, it's triggered. 「考えさせられます」 = "it makes you think" — the news forces the reflection on you.
Cultural Notes
昼休み (lunch break) is prime small-talk time in Japanese offices. News topics work well because they're neutral — not too personal, not too trivial. Saying 「今日のニュース、見ましたか？」 is a natural conversation opener between colleagues.
Both speakers use -masu and -desu forms throughout, even though they work together. This level of formality is the default in many Japanese workplaces, especially across different departments or seniority levels. Dropping to plain form is a sign of closeness that takes time to establish.
山田's phrase 「一人ひとりができること」(what each individual can do) echoes the framing common in Japanese environmental campaigns and school curricula. It shifts responsibility from institutions to the individual — a recurring theme in public messaging.
Japan has some of the world's most detailed household waste-sorting rules. In cities like Yokohama, residents sort trash into over 10 categories with strict pickup schedules. When 田中 mentions becoming more conscious of 「ゴミの分別」, this is a very real daily habit — not a vague aspiration.
Practice
Ways to work with this dialogue:
Role-play: Run through the dialogue with a partner, swapping roles each time. Focus on sounding like you actually care about the topic — Japanese conversation often loses energy when speakers recite lines without affect. Try pausing naturally before responses, the way a real conversation would flow.
Substitution Drills:
Topic Substitution: Swap out 「環境問題」 and 「電気自動車」 for other current events. Some options:
経済のニュース (economic news)
新しい技術の開発 (new technology developments)
スポーツの話題 (sports news)
Opinion Substitution: Change 田中's objection about electric cars. Instead of 「まだちょっと値段が高いのがネックですよね」, try:
まだ充電スポットが少ないのがネックですよね。(Not enough charging spots yet.)
デザインがまだあまり良くないのがネックですよね。(The designs still aren't great.)
Personal Action Substitution: Replace 田中's 「ゴミの分別をより意識するようになりました」 with your own habits:
節電を心がけるようになりました。(I started paying attention to saving electricity.)
環境に優しい商品を選ぶようになりました。(I started choosing eco-friendly products.)
Formality Shift: Rewrite the dialogue as if 田中 and 山田 are close friends talking at home rather than coworkers in a break room. Which -masu forms would switch to plain form? Which expressions would change? Notice how much the feel of the conversation shifts.