Japan's Hyogo Prefecture Faces Money Trouble, Needs Permission to Borrow
Listen to the story
Hyogo is a place in Japan. It is called a prefecture. A prefecture is like a state or region.
Hyogo has money problems now. The government says its finances are bad. Finances means money and how it is used.
Hyogo used bonds the wrong way. A bond is paper that shows you owe money. The prefecture did not handle this correctly.
Because of this, Hyogo must now ask for special permission before it borrows more money. This is called being a bond permission group.
This means Hyogo cannot borrow money freely anymore. The national government must check and agree first.
The governor of Hyogo is Mr. Saito. A governor is the leader of a prefecture.
Mr. Saito talked about this problem. He called it a negative legacy. This means a bad thing from the past that is still a problem now.
He wants to fix this problem. He wants Hyogo's money situation to get better again.
This is not the first time Hyogo had this problem. It happened before, and now it has happened again.
Vocabulary6 words
- prefecture
- a big area in Japan, like a state
- finances
- money and how it is managed
- bonds
- papers that show money is owed
- bond permission group
- a place that must ask before borrowing money
- governor
- the leader of a prefecture
- negative legacy
- a bad thing left from before
Quiz
Answer key
1. A prefecture in Japan 2. It used bonds incorrectly 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Hyogo is a place in Japan. It is called a _____.
Hyogo has money problems now. The government says its _____ are bad.
Hyogo used _____ the wrong way.
Because of this, Hyogo must now ask for special _____ before it borrows more money.
The _____ of Hyogo is Mr. Saito.
Mr. Saito talked about this problem. He called it a _____.