Section
People & Life
Everyday life, work and school. The voices of people connected with Ukraine.
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Ручка Is a Little Hand, and Also a Pen: Ukrainian’s Diminutive Forms
In Ukrainian, рука is "hand." Add -к- and you get ручка, and a dictionary will give you several meanings: a little or dear hand, a door or bag "handle," and a writing "pen." This article lays out, by grammatical gender of the noun, the suffixes that add a sense of "small" or "dear" to a word's ending, the forms built by stacking them up to three deep (as in хата to хатиночка), how they extend to adjectives, adverbs, and even verbs spoken to children, and words that have lost their sense of smallness altogether — all drawn from an encyclopedia, the orthography rules, and dictionaries.
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у Львові and в Одесі: Ukrainian’s у/в and і/й
In Ukrainian, the preposition for "in/at" is у in у Львові but в in в Одесі. This is a rule of "euphony" that avoids runs of consonants or vowels, and the same applies to і/й ("and") and з/із/зі/зо. This article tables the rules in §23-25 of the orthography that became the state-language standard in 2026, and traces what changed from the 1993 and 2019 editions.
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Ukraine’s Highest Peak Hoverla: 2,061 m on the Maps, 2,056 m by Satellite Survey
Hoverla, Ukraine's highest mountain, is given as 2,061 m in encyclopedias and reserve guides. But Polish researchers who measured the summit by satellite positioning in 2018 published a figure of 2,056.0 m (±0.5 m), and maps going back to the 19th century had given values from 2,050.7 to 2,058.0 m. This article covers the mountain's location, the two protected areas that meet at its summit, and how its name is spelled.
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Injuries at Work and on Your Commute Are Covered by Rosai Insurance: 80% of Average Wages From Day 4 of Leave
An injury at work or on your commute, or an illness caused by your job, is covered not by health insurance but by workers' accident compensation insurance (rosai hoken). This includes part-time and arubaito workers, and even a part-time job held by an international student; the company pays the premium. Treatment at a designated medical institution is free, and leave is paid at 80% of your base daily wage from the 4th day onward. This article sets out the claims process and deadlines, and what changes from April 2027.
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20 Hours a Week Enrolls You in Employment Insurance: the Basic Allowance When You Lose Your Job
Anyone working 20 hours a week or more, expected to work 31 days or more, is enrolled in employment insurance as a rule, regardless of nationality. The basic allowance for when you lose your job requires 12 months or more of enrollment in the 2 years before you leave; if you resign for personal reasons, payment begins after 7 days plus 1 month. This article sets out the payment ceiling, the procedure, and the expansion to 10 hours a week from October 2028.
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100,000 International Students Study at Senmon Gakko: Admission and Post-Graduation Status of Residence
A senmon gakko (vocational school) is a specialized training college (senshu gakko) with a "specialized course." Under an April 2026 legal amendment, admission requirements are now set by the same rule as for universities, and the law now states that a person who completes a course meeting conditions such as a program length of two years or more can call themselves a "senmonshi" (specialist). This article covers admission on a Ukrainian educational background, the Japanese required to study there, the relevance between your major and your job that is checked after graduation, and which statuses of residence qualify for national support.
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From November 9 to October 27: Ukrainian Language Day and the Radio Dictation
The day marking the Ukrainian written word and language was set by presidential decree in 1997 on the feast day of the chronicler Nestor, and moved from November 9 to October 27 in 2023. It is not a public holiday. This article sets out the mechanics of the "National Unity Radio Dictation," broadcast by the public broadcaster every year since 2000 to mark the day, and the state of play for 2026.
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Treatment Costing ¥1 Million, Paying About ¥93,000: How Japan’s High-Cost Medical Expense Benefit Changed in August 2026
When the amount paid at hospitals and pharmacies in a month exceeds a set ceiling, health insurance pays the difference — this is the “high-cost medical expense benefit.” The ceiling was raised in August 2026, and a new “annual cap” now covers August through the following July. This article covers the ceiling amounts by bracket with a worked example, the repeat-month reduction from the fourth month, the My Number Health Insurance Card and Certificate of Eligibility for Limit Application, where to apply and the two-year deadline, and what is planned for August 2027.
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You Can Join or Leave a Neighborhood Association Freely, but the Common-Area Fee Is Different: The Supreme Court Ruling and How Jichikai Work
Neighborhood associations (jichikai, chōnaikai) are organizations that local residents form voluntarily. A 2005 Supreme Court ruling held that a member of a prefectural public housing complex's neighborhood association can leave at any time, but that the obligation to pay the common-area fee for shared facilities remains. Based on the law and materials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and local governments, this article covers the rules for “authorized area-based associations” that can become legal entities, how the relationship with garbage collection points differs by area, and figures on membership fees and membership rates.
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From “Kokujikō” to Accredited Schools: The Japanese Language School Accreditation System That Began in 2024
The Act on the Accreditation of Japanese Language Education Institutions, which took effect on April 1, 2024, launched a system under which the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology accredits Japanese language schools, and a new national qualification, the “Registered Japanese Language Teacher.” This article covers the three programs — for study, for work, and for daily life — the relationship with the previous “kokujikō” schools, and the accreditation results and Japanese Language Teacher Examination figures published as of September 2026.