Ad Text in Japanese:

Text in Star: 「オーストラリアが近くなる。」

Text on Bottom: 「大坂←→ オーストラリアが、一直線。2007年3月就航。」

This advertisement is quite striking sporting a full color girl in a bikini against a background of drab colors and people in their winter jackets.

On a cultural note, notice the girl in the background with the mini-skirt, boots, and winter coat. This is winter garb in Japan. Young girls never take off their mini-skirts. Even in the dead of winter. Never. They just compensate with thick stockings.

Anyway, time for the Japanese!

「オーストラリアが近くなる」The katakana is as it says, “Australia”. The Japanese following, 「近くなる」means “becomes closer”. The original adjective is 「近い」, and the verb 「なる」means, “to become”. You can make any 「い」adjective into this form the same way.

For example, 「安くなる」means “to become cheap”. Maybe around the end of the year stores have sales and goods 「安くなる」. You can also do 「臭くなる」for, “to become stinky”. As in, 「彼がおならしたら部屋が臭くなるよ。」meaning “if he farts, the room will become stinky…”

「大坂←→ オーストラリアが、一直線。2007年3月就航。」

This is a long one. The arrows between the words “Osaka” and “Australia” are not regular Japanese punctuation, just a marketing effect.

The word 「一直線」literally means “in a single direct line”. Or, as ALC translates it, a “beeline”.

A random Japanese person told me when asked, “What sentence comes to mind when you hear the word, 「一直線」?” 「ゴールまで一直線。」 You could imagine a soccer (football, for all the non-American readers!) player on a breakaway heading straight for the goal.

「就航」This word is pretty specialized, and means for something to go into service. Usually a boat, or airline service. Not exactly used in everyday conversation, but check with ALC for some common example sentences so you’ll know if when you see it.

That’s all for now!

- Harvey