1.

Japanese Princess Mako Marries Commoner, Loses Royal Position

By Ashley Thompson
26 October 2021
Japan's Princess Mako on Tuesday quietly married a commoner without traditional
wedding celebrations. She said her marriage to her former university classmate,
Kei Komuro, "was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts."
Komuro added, "I love Mako. I live only once and I want to spend it with someone
I love."
Dịch: Thân vương Mako nhật Bản kết hôn với thường dân, mất vị trí trong hoàng
gia
Tác giả Ashley Thompson 26 tháng 10 năm 2021
Thân vương Mako của Nhật Bản vào ngày thứ Ba đã lặng lẽ kết hôn với một
thường dân mà không có đám cưới truyền thống. Cô nói rằng cuộc hôn nhân của
cô với bạn học đại học cũ, Kei Komuro, "là một lựa chọn cần thiết để sống trong
khi quí mến lòng chúng ta".
Komuro nói thêm, "Tôi yêu Mako. Tôi chỉ sống một lần và tôi muốn sống với
người mà tôi yêu."

2. The marriage to Komuro cost Mako her royal position and title. She also
received her husband's family name -- the first time she has had a family
name. Most Japanese women must drop their own family name after
marriage because of a law requiring only one family name for a married
couple. 
3. The couple's marriage document made the union official on Tuesday
morning, the Imperial Household Agency said. There were no royal
marriage ceremonies for the couple.
The agency admitted that many Japanese have not welcomed their marriage. 
4. Mako earlier refused to accept a 140 million yen -- about $1.23 million --
payment offered to her for leaving the imperial family. She is the first
imperial family member since World War II to not receive the payment. She
chose to not accept the payment because of criticism of the marriage.
5. Mako turned 30 years old three days before the marriage. She is a niece of
Emperor Naruhito. She and Komuro attended school together at Tokyo's
International Christian University. 
6. The couple announced in September 2017 that they planned to marry the
following year. But two months after their announcement, the media began
reporting about a financial dispute between Komuro's mother and her
 former fiancé. The main claimed Komuro and his mother had not repaid a
debt of about $35,000.
7. The couple's wedding was suspended.
On Tuesday morning, Mako left the palace wearing a light blue dress and
holding flowers. She bowedoutside the palace to her parents, Crown Prince
Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, and hugged her sister Kako. 
8. The couple did not answer questions at the news conference Tuesday. Mako
had expressed unease about giving answers in person. Instead, they provided
written answers to questions sent by the media ahead of time, including
those about Komuro's mother's financial issues.
9. Mako is recovering from what palace doctors described earlier this month as
severe stress from continued media criticism.
"We have been...saddened ... as false information has been taken as fact and
that unfounded stories have spread," Mako said in a written answer to one of
the questions.
10.Komuro, who is 30 years old, left for New York in 2018 to study law. He
returned to Japan last month. His hair was tied back at the time. The look
drew attention as a strong statement for someone marrying a princess in the
traditional imperial family. It added to the media's criticism of him.
11.The couple will move together to New York to start a new life.
Many in Tokyo wished them good luck.
"Congratulations," said office worker Yasuhiro Suzuki. "I hope people in
America will welcome them."
Speaking about her mental health issues, Mako noted that "many people
have difficulty and hurt feelings while trying to protect their hearts." She
added that she hoped "our society will be a place where more people can live
and protect their hearts with the help of warm help and support from others."
12.Mako is not the only female royal whose mental health was affected by
attacks from inside and outside the palace. Her grandmother, Empress
Emerita Michiko, was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese
imperial family. She collapsed and temporarily lost her voice in 1993
following continued negative media attention.
13.Empress Masako is a Harvard-educated former diplomat. She has had a
mental condition for nearly 20 years in part because of criticism over not
producing a boy who would become Emperor.
Some critics say Mako's marriage brings attention to the difficulties faced by
women in the Japanese imperial family.
 Mako's loss of her royal position comes from the Imperial House Law,
which permits only male succession. Female imperial family members must
leave if they marry commoners.
14.The male-only succession tradition leaves only Akishino and his son, Prince
Hisahito, in line to take the place of Emperor Naruhito. 
A group of government-appointed experts is discussing ways to create a
different succession system. But conservatives still reject female succession
and permitting women to be at the head of the imperial family.
cherish - v. to feel or show great love for (someone or something)
royal - adj. of or relating to a king or queen
imperial - adj . of or relating to an empire or an emperor
bow - v. to bend forward at the neck or waist as a formal way of greeting someone
or showing respect
hug - v. to put your arms around someone especially as a way of showing love or
friendship
palace - n. the official home of a king, queen, president, etc.
stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life,
work, etc.
succession - n. the act of getting a title or right after the person who had that title
or right before you has died or is no longer able or allowed to have it

15.US Businesses Give in to Worker Demands to Keep Employees

By John Russell
30 October 2021
As many American businesses struggle to fill jobs, some have started negotiating
demands that used to be non-negotiable for most hourly employees. 
One of the top demands for many workers is scheduling – the days and times
they spend on the job. 
Hourly workers are now seeking more flexibility in their schedules. That
means employees are pushing back against requirements to work weekends,
late nights or holidays. 
16.There are currently many job openings in the United States. So workers can
be more careful about the jobs they choose. 
There were 10.4 million job openings at the end of August and 11.1 million
openings the month before. Those numbers are the highest since at least
December 2000, when the government started recording the data. At the same
time, the U.S. Labor Department said the number of people quitting their jobs
jumped to 4.3 million in August from 4 million in July. 
17.A recent study from employment company ManpowerGroup found that
nearly 40 percent of jobseekers worldwide said schedule flexibility was one
of their top three issues in career decisions. 
SnagAJob.com, an online marketplace for hourly workers, says the word
"flexibility" now appears in about 11 percent of the more than 7 million job
postings on its site. That number was around 8 percent earlier in the year. 
18.Instawork is an employment marketplace that connects local businesses with
hourly workers. It says the rate at which employers were able to fill weekend
schedules dropped from January through August compared with weekday
work. 
Such changes are happening as companies try to hire more workers for the
upcoming holiday season. Target Corporation, for example, said this month
it will pay $2 an hour more to employees who agree to work schedules
during busy days of the holiday season. 
19.Sumir Meghani is co-founder and CEO of Instawork. He told The
Associated Press that he thinks companies are learning that money alone
cannot solve their hiring issues. 
"It's about flexibility," Meghani said. He added, "It's about workers saying ‘I
don't want to work weekends' or ‘I can't work Mondays, Tuesdays and
Wednesdays because I don't have child care or schools haven't reopened' or
‘I am worried about COVID.'" 
20.Meghani says hourly workers are now asking how they can get the same
work-life balance as workers in other kinds of jobs who can work remotely. 
During the pandemic, hourly workers were hit especially hard when
businesses like department stores and restaurants were forced to close for a
few months during the spring of 2020. Those who remained employed
at essential businesses like grocery stores found themselves working too
much and too hard. 
21.Donald Minerva is the owner of a restaurant called Scottadito Osteria
Toscana in Brooklyn, New York. He told the AP that right before the
pandemic, he had 16 employees who worked different schedules at his
restaurant, which was open six days a week. Now, Minerva has 14 workers
and he keeps his restaurant open just five days a week with limited hours. 
Minerva says 70 percent of his workers are from the pre-pandemic days and
want to work 40 hours a week. But the new workers want more flexibility. 
"It's a juggle to find them, and a juggle to keep them," he said.
flexibility – n. The act of making something easily changed; being able to
change or do different things 
essential – adj. extremely important and necessary 
remotely – adv. far away or from a distance 
juggle – n. the act of making changes to (something) in order to achieve a
desired result