On March 22 in the morning, one of two Japanese nationals who had been detained in Iran returned to Japan, according to a government source.

One of Two Detained Japanese Returns

The report states that イランで拘束されていた邦人2人のうち1人が22日午前、帰国したことが分かった。 Iran de kousoku sarete ita houjin futari no uchi hitori ga 22-nichi gozen, kikoku shita koto ga wakatta. “It was learned that one of the two Japanese nationals who had been detained in Iran returned to Japan on the morning of the 22nd.”

Let’s break that down.

• 拘束 (kousoku) means “detention” or “custody.”
• 邦人 (houjin) refers specifically to a Japanese national living or staying abroad.
• 〜のうち (~no uchi) means “out of” or “among.”
• 帰国 (kikoku) means “to return to one’s home country.”
• 政府関係者が明らかにした (seifu kankeisha ga akiraka ni shita) means “a government official made it clear” or “a government source revealed.”

In other words, out of two Japanese citizens who had been detained in Iran, one has now returned to Japan. The information was made public by a 政府関係者 (seifu kankeisha), a government official or source.

Understanding the Key Expressions

Two grammar patterns in this short report are especially important for reading Japanese news.

1. 〜ていた (Past Continuous / Ongoing State)

In the phrase:

拘束されていた kousoku sarete ita “had been detained”

The structure 〜ていた often describes:

• An action that was ongoing in the past
• Or a continuing state in the past

Here, it indicates that the individuals were in a state of detention up until recently.

You’ll see this pattern constantly in news articles:

• 住んでいた (sunde ita) — “was living”
• 働いていた (hatarai te ita) — “was working”

2. 〜ことが分かった (It Was Learned That…)

The sentence ends with:

帰国したことが分かった。 kikoku shita koto ga wakatta. “It was learned that (he) returned to Japan.”

The pattern:

[plain form verb] + ことが分かった

means “it was discovered/learned that…” It’s very common in formal reporting. Notice that the subject (who learned it) is not specified — this makes the tone neutral and objective.

You’ll see it used like this:

• 事故が起きたことが分かった。 Jiko ga okita koto ga wakatta. “It was learned that an accident occurred.”

Cultural Context: 邦人 and Government Sources

The word 邦人 (houjin) is frequently used in Japanese news when referring to Japanese nationals overseas. It emphasizes citizenship and nationality rather than simply saying “a person.”

Also, the phrase 政府関係者が明らかにした reflects a common journalistic style in Japan. Reports often attribute information to a “government official” without naming the individual. This allows information to be shared while maintaining discretion.

The verb 明らかにする (akiraka ni suru) literally means “to make something clear,” but in news language, it often translates more naturally as “to reveal” or “to disclose.”

Learn Japanese from This Article

Here are the key words you should know:

Grammar Spotlight

Pattern 1: 〜ていた

Used for past ongoing actions or states.

Example:

• 彼は日本に住んでいた。 Kare wa Nihon ni sunde ita. “He was living in Japan.”

Pattern 2: 〜ことが分かった

Used in news to report newly learned information.

Example:

• 原因が火事だったことが分かった。 Genin ga kaji datta koto ga wakatta. “It was learned that the cause was a fire.”

Useful Expression from This Article

2人のうち1人 futari no uchi hitori “One out of two people”

This structure is extremely useful:

• 3人のうち2人 — san-nin no uchi futari — “two out of three people”
• 5つのうち1つ — itsutsu no uchi hitotsu — “one out of five”

You’ll encounter this pattern frequently in statistics and reports.

Continue Learning

Curious about the Japanese used here? Our Reading and Writing in Japanese II: Hiragana and Katakana lesson covers this in depth.

Working on your reading skills? Our Introduction to Kanji: Pictorial Foundations of Japanese Script lesson is a great next step.

Want to strengthen your everyday word knowledge? Check out Basic Vocabulary Building: Embracing Words Without Latin Ties.

Reading real news like this is one of the best ways to see how Japanese is actually used — concise, formal, and packed with meaning in just a few lines.

これからもよろしくお願いします。 Kore kara mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.