The results of a 2015 survey on the Japanese language carried out by the Agency for Cultural Affairs were announced this September in which 78.5% of respondents answered that they “treasure the Japanese language.” In terms of honorific language, which even native Japanese easily make mistakes with, 64.1% answered that it “should be preserved.” This far exceeded the 26.1% who answered that it “should be made to be easily understood.” On the other hand, regarding “ranuki” – that is dropping the “ra” syllable from words that end in “rareru” – which even confuses Japanese – more and more people, especially young people, are dropping the “ra.” 44.6% of respondents use it (the “ra”) in the phrase “Kotoshi wa hatsu hinode ga mirareta” (I was able to see the sunrise on New Year’s Day this year), while 48.4% of respondents said “mireta,” instead. The numbers of teenagers who use “mireru” (instead of “mirareru”) has risen to nearly 80%. However, the majority of people favor “rareru” for certain words. For instance, 88.6 % of respondents use “kangaerarenai” (couldn’t conceive of it), rather than “kangaerarenai,” and 60.8% use “taberarenai,” (can’t eat) rather than “taberenai.” In terms of what has the most influence on language and its usage, 86.6% of respondents cited TV and 43.7% newspapers. In regards to the spread of information devices, such as smartphones and PCs, 85.3% of respondents said that they had had some influence on language and its use. More specifically, 57.8% of respondents said that “it has become difficult to write kanji,” 45.1% said that “the meaning and nuance of words has changed,” and 42.1% said that it’s led to an “increase in new words and expressions.” 56.1% of respondents said that they “sometimes express their emotions with emoticons.” By reading successive surveys, you can find out about the increasing number of new words and about changing usages. They give credence to the idea that language is a living thing.