The Lower House of the Diet has passed an amendment to the nation’s Holiday Act which includes a new public holiday, Mountain Day (Yama no Hi). The next step involves the amendment to go into deliberation in the Upper House where it is expected to be approved again.
Although this comes as welcome news to the nation’s tired workers, Japanese holidays tend to be arbitrary affairs named after random things like the ocean.
According to the amendment, Mountain Day is intended “to give opportunities to get close to mountains and to appreciate the benefits of mountains.”
I ? Word Understanding
amendment ? act or process of changing
deliberation ? discussion done in order to make a decision
arbitrary ? not based on reason or evidence
II ?Have Your Say
1. Taking a holiday ? a luxury or a necessity?
– time to relax; no stress
– spend time with family and friends
– do something different
2. Why celebrate mountain day?
Mountains are important in different ways. However, their greatestvalue is water.
3. Japan has 15 civic holidays. Which holiday do you consider the most important?
239 Japan’s newest holiday Mountain Day gets approval from Lower House
