Easy Japanese news is news rewritten in やさしい日本語 so a learner can follow it. The best-known source is NHK News Web Easy: free, written by people, browser only, no saved words. If you want more reading at your level every day, with furigana you can control, one-tap meanings and review, you need an app, and the two closest are Todaii and YoMoo (ours). Satori Reader is not news, but it is the human-written alternative with audio. Below: what “easy” means in each case, a table of the four checked on November 6, 2026, a short sample story to test yourself on, and which to use in three common situations.
Disclosure: we make YoMoo, one of the four. My Senpai is not affiliated with NHK, Todaii or Satori Reader; their names refer to their products only. The facts come from each product’s own website and store listings on November 6, 2026. We have no affiliate links. The sample story on this page was written by us; nothing here is copied from any of the four.
In short
- Real news, free, no app: NHK News Web Easy, with our ten-minute reading routine.
- More reading at your level, with lookup and review: Todaii (volume, one-touch lookup) or YoMoo (Original and AI Easy side by side, furigana by JLPT level, spaced repetition).
- Human-written stories with human audio: Satori Reader, paid.
What “easy Japanese news” means
“Easy” always means rewritten for a reader who is not yet fluent: shorter sentences, everyday words, furigana on the kanji, and often an explanation of the hard words that remain. The news itself is the same; what changes is who does the rewriting, and that decides what you get and what you give up.
Rewritten by teachers and editors
NHK News Web Easy is the model: Japanese teachers rewrite NHK reporters’ stories for foreign residents and children. The language is natural and checked, and it is free. The limits are volume (a handful of stories a day), no app, and nothing to save words into. Suits learners who want real current news from Japan and already have a dictionary and a review habit of their own.
Sorted and glossed by a learner tool
Todaii takes news-style articles, sorts them N5 to N1 and adds one-touch lookup and flashcards, with more than 10 new pieces a day. Its pages do not say whether each story has a simpler version or how furigana is handled. Suits learners who want a lot of level-sorted news on the phone and are happy with ads or a paid plan.
Rewritten by AI, with the original beside it
Each YoMoo news story has an Easy version written by AI from the Original and labelled Easy in the reader, with the Original one tap away. The trade-off is plain: far more reading at your level than any hand-edited site can publish, in exchange for accepting an occasional unnatural phrase or a changed detail in the Easy version. Suits learners who want daily volume with furigana by JLPT level, one-tap meanings and spaced repetition, and who will read the Original when something looks odd.
A fourth option is not news at all. Satori Reader publishes original stories written and narrated by people, with furigana settings and spaced repetition. If you want human-written text and audio and do not need it to be today’s news, it is the one to compare against the three above.
NHK News Web Easy, Todaii, YoMoo and Satori Reader compared
| Feature | NHK News Web Easy | Todaii | YoMoo (ours) | Satori Reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you read | Current news from Japan rewritten in easy Japanese for foreign residents and children | News-style articles sorted N5 to N1; more than 10 new pieces a day on culture, daily life, technology and entertainment | News in eight topics, each with an Easy version, 325 JLPT passages (65 per level), 400 how-to articles and about 500 Aozora Bunko classics | Not news: 44 original story series, 1,650+ episodes written by humans, new episodes weekly |
| An easier version of the same story | Every story is already the easy version | Not stated | Yes: Original and Easy for every news story. Easy is an AI rewrite, labelled in the app | No; each series is written at its own level |
| Furigana control | Furigana with a hide button, reported by learner guides; not verified on the site today | Not stated | On every kanji, or only on kanji above a JLPT level you choose | All, according to my knowledge, none, or on tap |
| Word meanings | Word explanations, reported by learner guides; not verified on the site today | One-touch lookup inside the reading | One tap, from JMdict (250,000+ words and readings) | Tap any word for its meaning in context |
| Saved words and review | None | Flashcards (spaced repetition not stated) | Spaced-repetition review, quiz, flashcards, CSV export that Anki opens | Built-in spaced repetition |
| Audio | Reported by learner guides; not verified on the site today | Text-to-speech, three voices | Text-to-speech with the current sentence highlighted | Human voice actors |
| Your own text | No | Yes (“Add your own reading materials”, iOS release notes) | Paste, camera scan, .txt, .srt and .vtt files; always free | Not stated |
| Price | Free; a one-time usage confirmation (NHK ONE) with purpose and region questions. In Japan, NHK’s reception-contract terms apply | Free with ads and daily limits (3 reading practices a day). US App Store in-app items from 19.99 USD (Premium) to 69.99 USD (Premium forever); web lifetime 34.57 USD on sale | Free: 5 news or passage articles, then a short ad opens each new one; own text and classics always free. Ad-free monthly or yearly, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan | First two episodes of each series free; Pro 9 USD a month or 89 USD a year |
| Platforms | Browser only; no app | Android, iOS, web | Android, iPhone, iPad, web (one new library article a day on the web) | Android, iOS, web |
Reading the table
NHK News Web Easy: the furigana button, audio and word explanations are what learner guides describe, and they were part of the site for years; today the site sits behind an NHK ONE usage confirmation, so we could not re-verify them on the page itself. Our guide to reading NHK News Web Easy covers the routine once you are in.
Todaii: formerly called Easy Japanese. Its listings promise volume and lookup; furigana options and an easy version of each story are not stated, so we do not claim them either way. The free plan allows 3 reading practices a day.
YoMoo: the Easy versions are written by AI, as described above, and that is why every story in eight topics can have both an Easy and an Original. The JLPT passages (65 per level), how-to articles and about 500 Aozora Bunko classics are separate from the news. Your own text (paste, camera, subtitle files) and the classics never count against the 5 free articles.
Satori Reader: the strongest option for human-written text with human audio, and the only one here with no free daily allowance beyond the first two episodes of each series. Its levels are its own, not JLPT.
For graded readers, manga and other reading apps beyond news, see the best Japanese reading apps for beginners.
A sample Easy story
This is what an easy news story at about JLPT N4 looks like: four sentences, furigana on every kanji, 〜てあります, 〜ことができます and 〜てほしい. Read it once with furigana, answer the three questions, then switch furigana off and read it again.
Sample written by My Senpai, not a news report
Written in the style of easy news sites. Kawada Town is made up; this is practice text, not a news report.
小学生が作った町の地図を駅で配る
川田町の小学生が、町の地図を作りました。地図には、おいしい店や、桜がきれいな公園などが書いてあります。地図は今月から駅の前に置いてあって、だれでも無料でもらうことができます。町の人は「旅行に来た人に、町のことをもっと知ってほしいです」と話しています。
Show the English
A town map made by elementary school children is handed out at the station. Elementary school children in Kawada Town made a map of the town. The map shows good restaurants, a park with beautiful cherry blossoms and other places. From this month the maps are placed in front of the station, and anyone can take one free of charge. A town official says, “We want visitors to learn more about our town.”
Check yourself
If the furigana did most of the work on the second read, that is normal at N5 and N4. Our guide to what furigana is and when to turn it off explains how to wean yourself off it, and the JLPT N4 reading practice page has longer passages with checked answers.
Which should you use
You want today’s news from Japan, written by people, for free
Read NHK News Web Easy in the browser, one story a day, and keep your own word list. Accept that there is no app and no review built in; pair it with a flashcard app or the furigana reader in your browser for words you want to save. Start with the ten-minute routine.
You want more reading at your level every day, on your phone, with lookup and review
Choose between Todaii and YoMoo. Todaii gives you more than 10 new pieces a day sorted N5 to N1, one-touch lookup and flashcards, free with ads and a 3-a-day limit. YoMoo gives you an Easy and an Original of every story, furigana on every kanji or only above your level, one-tap meanings and spaced repetition, plus JLPT passages and classics, 5 free articles and then a short ad each. The difference that matters: YoMoo gives you two levels of the same story and keeps your saved words; Todaii gives you more pieces a day. Todaii’s pages do not say how its articles are produced, so ask before you pay, or stay with NHK.
You want stories written and read aloud by people, and you will pay for it
Satori Reader. Two free episodes per series let you test the level system before paying 9 USD a month or 89 USD a year. It will not give you today’s news, so many learners read one Satori episode and one easy news story a day.
YoMoo is a Japanese reading app with furigana made by My Senpai. Its news is its own, produced as described above; it does not show NHK’s stories.
Frequently asked questions
What is easy Japanese news?
News written or rewritten in やさしい日本語 (easy Japanese) so that learners, children and foreign residents can follow it: short sentences, everyday words, furigana on kanji. NHK News Web Easy is the best-known source. Learner apps such as Todaii sort news-style articles by JLPT level and add one-touch lookup, and YoMoo (ours) adds an Easy version next to the Original of each story.
Is NHK News Web Easy still free?
Yes. On November 6, 2026 the site was free to read in the browser. Since 2026 it sits behind an NHK ONE usage confirmation that asks why you are using it and where you are; in Japan, NHK’s reception-contract terms apply. There is no app, and the site has no saved words or review. Our guide explains how to read it in ten minutes a day.
What JLPT level do you need for easy Japanese news?
None of the sources states a JLPT level for easy news, so treat this as a rule of thumb: with N5 grammar, kana and furigana you can follow a story slowly with a dictionary; around N4 to N3 most easy stories read for the main idea on the first pass. Todaii and YoMoo sort their reading by JLPT level, which makes it easier to start one level below where you think you are.
Is an Easy version written by AI safe to learn from?
It is a trade-off, and you should know what you are choosing. In YoMoo the Easy version of each story is written by AI from the Original and labelled Easy in the reader. You get far more reading at your level than any hand-edited site can publish, in exchange for accepting an occasional unnatural phrase or a changed detail; the Original is one tap away to check. If you want text written by people, read NHK News Web Easy or Satori Reader instead, or use both.
Which easy news app has furigana you can control?
YoMoo shows furigana on every kanji or only on kanji above a JLPT level you choose. Satori Reader offers all, none, according to your knowledge, or on tap. NHK News Web Easy is reported to have a furigana hide button. Todaii’s pages do not state its furigana options. Our guide to what furigana is explains when to turn it off.
Last reviewed November 6, 2026. Sources: the NHK News Web Easy gate page; Todaii’s website, Google Play listing and US App Store listing (including the 4.4.9 release notes); satorireader.com and Satori Reader’s store listings; our own YoMoo pages and store listings; all checked on November 6, 2026. NHK facts reported by learner guides are listed on our NHK News Web Easy guide. Found something out of date? Email fluencytool@my-senpai.com.