We can all agree that Japanese summer is hell, with scorching heat that will make you crawl back home and humidity levels that have you changing clothes twice if not more, a day. But there is a silver lining. Boiling temperatures give us a good excuse to indulge in cold sweet treats to cool off and replenish our energy.
Because the novel coronavirus hit Japanese dairy farmers particularly hard, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is now encouraging us to stay cool by indulging in one ice cream per day. Amen to that!
国が1日1個のアイス食べることを推奨している!! pic.twitter.com/3IZW1xwEWh
— どり (@ayanamidori) August 21, 2020
国が1日1個のアイス食べることを推奨している!!
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“The country recommends eating one ice cream a day!”
The tweet features a screenshot of the MAFF website itself. In a move to encourage dairy consumption, MAFF’s “Plus One Project” aims to increase folks’ daily consumption of cheese, yogurt, and ice cream!
Say no more
For once, Twitter peeps are fully ready to back up the government.
1日1個のアイスは国民の義務です
※義務ではなくあくまで推奨です pic.twitter.com/WfNwAtq0rG— 英 (@futuunonaomasa) August 23, 2020
1日1個のアイスは国民の義務です
※義務ではなくあくまで推奨です
=
“One ice cream a day is a civic duty.
*It is not mandatory but recommended”
Of course, we’re all ready to sacrifice our waistlines to help out dairy farmers.
国が1日1個アイスを食べろって言うから仕方なく食べます✨
酪農家さん達のためにもね…仕方ないんだよ pic.twitter.com/AxIEZj2y6E— 華菜 (@cona_aka_0220) August 23, 2020
国が1日1個アイスを食べろって言うから仕方なく食べます✨
酪農家さん達のためにもね…仕方ないんだよ
=
“I have no choice but to eat it since the country tells us to eat one ice cream per day
It’s for dairy farmers, so it can’t be helped!”
Tough choice
We’re all for an ice cream a day, but exactly how much counts as “one ice cream”?
https://twitter.com/nano_macoron/status/1297176053752819718?s=20
ワシいつも2リットルのファミリアアイス買うんだけど、1日1個食べないとダメなの…?
=
“I always buy the 2 liter Familia (family) ice cream, but I have to eat one per day…?”
Honestly, is that even up for debate?
https://twitter.com/fishcat515/status/1296099280885694466?s=20
夏は暑いからアイス1日2個まで食べていいって勝手に自分の中で決めてるんやけど、100円くらいのアイスを1日2個食べるか200円強のハーゲンダッツを1日1個だけ食べるかでどちらがより幸福度を得られるかずっと考えてる
笑
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“It’s hot in summer, so I’ve decided on my own to eat two ice creams a day, but I’m wondering which one will give more happiness between eating two ¥100 each ice creams or eating one ¥200 over Haagen-Dazs”
Dairy-free ice cream options in Japan
The one ice cream a day campaign is good and all, but we know not everyone can (or wants to) indulge in cow milk products. Luckily, Japan has some delicious no-milk (牛乳不使用) ice cream options for you.
- Caring Ice plant-based ice cream
- Mihane Vegan Ice Cream
- CocoFRIO Dairy & Gluten free
- Kracie Soy Ice cream
- K and Son’s plant-based ice cream
(Psst, Glico’s Sunao series, advertised as soy-based ice-cream, does contain dairy!)
How to use こと to make gerunds in Japanese
The word こと, which roughly translates “thing”, is used in a lot of grammatical phrases. One of こと‘s main function is to allow us to use verbs as nouns (to turn a verbal phrase into a nominal phrase). This process called “nominalization”, gave こと it’s nickname “nominalizer”.
Sounds a bit obscure, right? Well, you do this very naturally in English, every time you end a verb with the gerund “ing”.
Take for instance the verb “食べる” to eat. If you want to say “Japan recommends eating one ice cream per day”, you’ll have to change “eat”, into “eating”. こと is here to help you do just that:
アイス食べることを推奨する = recommend eating ice cream
本を読むことが好きです = I like reading books
料理することは、ジョンの趣味です = Cooking is John’s hobby
Keep in mind to always use verbs’ plain form when you combine them with こと.
Vocabulary
Japanese | Romaji | English |
推奨する | suishyou suru | recommend |
国民の義務 | kokumin no gimu | civic duty |
あくまで | akumade | only, just |
酪農家 | rakunouka | dairy farm |
仕方(が)ない | shikata(ga)nai | it can’t be helped |
200円強 | ni hyaku en kyou | a little over 200 yen |
幸福度 |
koufukudo | Happiness level |
牛乳不使用 | gyuunyuu fushiyou | Without dairy |
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