The news is a great place to study any language, and Japanese is no exception. For those who have an upper-beginner to intermediate level of Japanese, however, following the news or reading the newspaper may seem still far out of reach.
That’s where NHK News Easy comes in! Want to keep up with current events, particularly those relevant to or frequently discussed by Japanese people, but lack the kanji knowledge or listening comprehension skills to follow the news or read the newspaper?
With NHK News Easy, you can read simplified versions of news articles available from NHK’s regular news site. It is intended for foreigners and young Japanese, so furigana is displayed atop the kanji, and definitions of difficult vocabulary are displayed automatically when you hover your mouse over the word.
This is a website I personally used frequently when transitioning from textbooks/educational materials to authentic materials intended for a Japanese audience. I would recommend it not only for improving your reading comprehension and vocabulary skills, but also for keeping up to date on the same topics Japanese people are following themselves – so it provides topics for conversation practice as well!
Try it out!
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/
WAHAHA Japanese Language School 