Learn to Enjoy Reading English 'in English'! Obunsha to Publish 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes' and 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes' on April 30 (Thursday)!
Obunsha announced on April 30th the release of two new English reading comprehension collections: 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes' and 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes.' These are not workbooks, but rather English passage collections designed for learners to enjoy reading and understand content 'as much as possible in English,' aiming to foster genuine English reading comprehension useful for university entrance exams.
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- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 30, 2026 at 11:31
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Obunsha Co., Ltd., an educational publisher (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director and President Hideki Kumekawa), will publish 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes' and 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes' on April 30 (Thursday).
This series is not a collection of problem sets, but rather a collection of English passages designed for enjoying English texts and understanding their content 'as much as possible in English.'
Instead of reading English texts by 'converting them into Japanese sentence by sentence' for 'solving problems,' this English passage series allows readers to purely enjoy the English texts, which leads to a real sense of 'being able to read/understand in English.' By enjoying reading English texts, learners can acquire true English reading comprehension skills that are useful for university entrance exams.
## Learn to read English 'in English'
This series includes a large number of original English passages designed to help learners read English as much as possible in English.
## Thorough support for content comprehension
All English texts come with illustrations to aid comprehension and audio recordings by native speakers (US, UK, Australia). Explanations focusing on grammar points and important expressions within the English texts are also included, leading to English proficiency useful for exam preparation.
## 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes'
## Carefully selected engaging English materials that make you want to read to the end
It contains 38 stories, including English quizzes and short stories of approximately 150-200 words. By reading quizzes where you 'want to know the answer' and short stories where you 'are curious about the final twist,' learners can naturally acquire English reading comprehension skills by spontaneously enjoying reading to the end.
## Systematically acquire grammar and important expressions
With 'Focus on Grammar & Expressions,' which focuses on grammar points and important expressions that appear in the English texts, learners can check grammar and important expressions while enjoying quizzes and short stories.
## 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes'
## Hone university entrance exam level reading skills with easy English texts
Chapter 1 includes daily scenes and stories, while Chapter 2 features slightly more challenging English texts on surprising true stories and frequently appearing topics in university entrance exam English passages, all around 300 words. With a rich variety of content, from heartwarming stories to surprising true events, learners can enjoy and concentrate on reading. These texts also help acquire general knowledge relevant to university entrance exams.
## Skills useful for university entrance exams can also be acquired
It includes summary comprehension questions, vocabulary notes for difficult words, and 'Hints for Reading and Learning' at the beginning. Since the included English texts contain many sentence structures crucial for comprehension, this series is also ideal before studying advanced English reading comprehension workbooks.
## Book Overview
### 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes'
Editor: Obunsha
Publication Date: April 30, 2026
Format: Shigoban / 160 pages / 2-color printing
Price: 1,320 yen (tax included)
### 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes'
Editor: Obunsha
Publication Date: April 30, 2026
Format: Shigoban / 160 pages / 2-color printing
Price: 1,320 yen (tax included)
## Company Overview
Learners are changemakers.
People learn not only to solve immediate problems but also to discover life's questions and societal challenges, and to continue to take them on.
Through 'learning,' the world can be changed little by little.
Towards a world where anyone, anytime, anywhere, can learn.
We will continue to support learners always.
Company Name: Obunsha Co., Ltd.
Representative: Hideki Kumekawa, Representative Director and President
Established: October 1, 1931
Head Office: 55 Yokoderacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8680
TEL: 03-3266-6400
Business Activities: General publishing and business focused on education and information.
This series is not a collection of problem sets, but rather a collection of English passages designed for enjoying English texts and understanding their content 'as much as possible in English.'
Instead of reading English texts by 'converting them into Japanese sentence by sentence' for 'solving problems,' this English passage series allows readers to purely enjoy the English texts, which leads to a real sense of 'being able to read/understand in English.' By enjoying reading English texts, learners can acquire true English reading comprehension skills that are useful for university entrance exams.
## Learn to read English 'in English'
This series includes a large number of original English passages designed to help learners read English as much as possible in English.
## Thorough support for content comprehension
All English texts come with illustrations to aid comprehension and audio recordings by native speakers (US, UK, Australia). Explanations focusing on grammar points and important expressions within the English texts are also included, leading to English proficiency useful for exam preparation.
## 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes'
## Carefully selected engaging English materials that make you want to read to the end
It contains 38 stories, including English quizzes and short stories of approximately 150-200 words. By reading quizzes where you 'want to know the answer' and short stories where you 'are curious about the final twist,' learners can naturally acquire English reading comprehension skills by spontaneously enjoying reading to the end.
## Systematically acquire grammar and important expressions
With 'Focus on Grammar & Expressions,' which focuses on grammar points and important expressions that appear in the English texts, learners can check grammar and important expressions while enjoying quizzes and short stories.
## 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes'
## Hone university entrance exam level reading skills with easy English texts
Chapter 1 includes daily scenes and stories, while Chapter 2 features slightly more challenging English texts on surprising true stories and frequently appearing topics in university entrance exam English passages, all around 300 words. With a rich variety of content, from heartwarming stories to surprising true events, learners can enjoy and concentrate on reading. These texts also help acquire general knowledge relevant to university entrance exams.
## Skills useful for university entrance exams can also be acquired
It includes summary comprehension questions, vocabulary notes for difficult words, and 'Hints for Reading and Learning' at the beginning. Since the included English texts contain many sentence structures crucial for comprehension, this series is also ideal before studying advanced English reading comprehension workbooks.
## Book Overview
### 'English Passages for High School Basic Level, Readable in 3 Minutes'
Editor: Obunsha
Publication Date: April 30, 2026
Format: Shigoban / 160 pages / 2-color printing
Price: 1,320 yen (tax included)
### 'English Passages for University Entrance Exam Prep Level, Readable in 5 Minutes'
Editor: Obunsha
Publication Date: April 30, 2026
Format: Shigoban / 160 pages / 2-color printing
Price: 1,320 yen (tax included)
## Company Overview
Learners are changemakers.
People learn not only to solve immediate problems but also to discover life's questions and societal challenges, and to continue to take them on.
Through 'learning,' the world can be changed little by little.
Towards a world where anyone, anytime, anywhere, can learn.
We will continue to support learners always.
Company Name: Obunsha Co., Ltd.
Representative: Hideki Kumekawa, Representative Director and President
Established: October 1, 1931
Head Office: 55 Yokoderacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8680
TEL: 03-3266-6400
Business Activities: General publishing and business focused on education and information.