7.2 総合読解: Internal Notices, Memos, and Meeting Minutes

7.2 総合読解: Internal Notices, Memos, and Meeting Minutes

Internal documents test your ability to identify 適用日, 対象者, 提出物, 決議内容, 次のアクション, and 担当者. Unlike emails (which carry personal requests), notices and minutes carry organizational decisions, and the test asks whether something was 決定, 提案, or 保留.

Document Types

社内通達 vs 業務連絡 vs お知らせ

These three internal document types share a similar look but differ in formality, purpose, and audience. Distinguishing them up front tells you which reading order to apply and which question types to expect.

A 社内通達 uses 〜を通達します / 〜と決定しました and ends with 問い合わせ先. A 業務連絡 uses 〜をお願いします / 〜について連絡します and ends with 担当者連絡先. An お知らせ uses 〜をご案内いたします / 〜を開催します and ends with 申込方法. Misclassifying the type leads to wrong question prediction: applying a 期限 reading order to a 社内通達 wastes time because 通達 rarely carries a 期限.

回覧板 Signature Conventions

回覧 (circulation) documents carry approval columns that test whether you can identify who has authorized what. Three column names recur and each demands a different signature.

回覧順 is the routing order — typically 起案者 → 主管部門責任者 (承認欄) → 関連部署 (既読欄) → 決裁者 (決裁欄). BJT questions of the form 誰が承認しましたか are answered by reading only the column whose name matches the verb: 承認 → 承認欄, 決裁 → 決裁欄. A common distractor names a person who signed the 既読欄 when the question asks for 承認 or 決裁.

Meeting Minutes Anatomy

Minutes are the most-tested internal document because they mix facts (出席者, 開催日) with decisions (決議事項) and open items (保留事項, 次回議題). Read minutes in this order:

1. 開催日時・場所 — anchors the meeting in time
2. 出席者・欠席者 — identifies who can be 担当者
3. 議題 list — skim all agenda titles first
4. 該当議題の議事内容 — read only the agenda that the question targets
5. 決議事項 — what was actually decided
6. 次回開催予定 — only relevant when asked about 次のアクション

議事録 Role Abbreviations

Minutes carry role labels next to names. Knowing each label prevents the chair-not-owner trap that recurs in every BJT minutes set.

A 議題 about new system adoption might list 議長: 山本部長, 主管: 情報システム部, 決裁者: 取締役鈴木, 担当者: 田中主任. When the question asks 誰が担当しますか, the answer is 田中主任, not 山本部長 — even though 山本部長 spoke first and called the 採決. The 議長 runs the meeting; the 担当者 runs the work. Distractors almost always substitute 議長 for 担当者 because both names appear at the top of the 議題 block.

Decided vs. Proposed vs. Pending

The single most common trap in minutes-based questions is confusing 決定, 提案, and 保留. Watch for these grammatical markers:

A classic distractor names a topic that was 提案 but later 却下 or 保留 — the option implies it was decided. Always verify with the verb tense.

Conditional / Modal Expressions in Minutes

Minutes and notices often state decisions that depend on a condition. The conditional or modal marker tells you whether a 決定 is unconditional, conditional, or merely a working assumption. BJT distractors routinely drop the marker and present the outcome as fact.

A 議事録 sentence such as 「新システムの導入は、来期予算の承認を前提として決定しました」 is not unconditional. An option stating 「新システムを導入することが決定しました」 omits the 前提 and is the conditional-answer trap in minutes form.

添付資料 Reference Rules in Minutes

Minutes reference attachments with several interchangeable phrases. Recognizing the phrase lets you skip the attachment content unless the question explicitly targets it.

BJT trap: an option quotes content from 添付資料 No.2 when the question asks about the body of the minutes. The text quoted is real and the wording matches, but it answers a different question. Always verify that the located sentence sits in the body of the 議事録, not in a referenced attachment, before locking the answer.

次回議題 vs 宿題事項 vs 持ち越し事項

Minutes sort unfinished business into three carry-forward buckets. A BJT question of the form 議題Xはどうなりましたか can only be answered once you identify which bucket the agenda item sits in.

A distractor may swap buckets: it labels a 宿題事項 as 持ち越し事項 because both are technically unfinished. The grammar distinguishes them: 宿題事項 is paired with 担当者 and 期限 (「田中主任、来週までに」), whereas 持ち越し事項 is paired with 次回審議 (「次回会議で再度審議します」). If you see a 担当者 name, it is 宿題, not 持ち越し.

Question Types

• 適用日 / 開始日 (effective date): いつから適用されますか — read the 件名 and the first paragraph of 本文; look for 〜より適用, 〜より開始
• 対象者 (target audience): 誰が対象ですか — read 宛先 line and 対象 sentence in 本文
• 提出物 / 必要な手続き: 何を提出する必要がありますか — look for 提出書類, 提出期限, 提出先
• 決議内容 / 決定事項: 何が決定されましたか — read only 決議事項 section
• 次のアクション: 次に何をすべきですか — read 次回 section or the action sentence
• 担当者: 誰が担当しますか — look for a name paired with 担当, 責任者, 主管

Strategy: Read Structure, Not Order

For notices, read in this order: 件名 → 対象 → 開始日 → 行動. For minutes, read in this order: 議題 list → 該当議題の内容 → 決議事項. Skipping the rest saves 30 seconds per question and keeps you inside the 60-second per-question budget for Part 3.

Trap Patterns

• 提案-was-not-決定 trap: Option names a topic that was 提案 but later 却下 or 保留.
• Deadline-not-effective-date trap: Option picks 提出期限 date when the question asks for 適用開始日.
• Chair-not-owner trap: Option names 議長 (who chaired) when the question asks for 担当者 (who executes).
• 決議-vs-提案 swap: Option rephrases a 決定 as 提案 or vice versa.
• 添付資料 mismatch trap: Option quotes a real sentence from an attachment that the question does not target; the wording matches but the source is wrong.
• 宿題 vs 持ち越し swap: Option treats a 宿題事項 (has 担当者 and 期限) as a 持ち越し事項 (deferred to next meeting) or vice versa.

Worked Example: 出張報告書

The official sample 出張報告書 has three paragraphs. The question: この出張中に、終わった仕事は何ですか. Options include 仮事務所の契約, 新オフィスの内装, 採用面接, 顧客との最終契約.

Paragraph 1 lists これからする tasks (内装, 採用面接). Paragraph 2 states 「仮事務所の契約を完了しました」 — the only sentence with a past-tense completion verb (完了しました / 締結しました). Paragraph 3 lists future tasks (顧客との最終契約は来月).

The correct answer is 仮事務所の契約. The trap is to confuse a topic mentioned in the report with a completed task; only the verb tense (完了しました / しました) marks completion. Pre-reading the question, then scanning for past-tense completion verbs, isolates paragraph 2 as the answer-bearing sentence.

Worked Example 2: フレックスタイム制度導入の社内通達

A mock 社内通達 reads:

人事部よりお知らせいたします。本月1日、フレックスタイム制度の導入が決定しました。対象は本社勤務の全社員とし、来月1日より適用を開始します。ただし、営業部門およびカスタマーサポート部門は業務特性上、対象外となります。コアタイムは10時から15時とし、開始時刻は8時から11時の間、終了時刻は17時から20時の間で各自設定してください。詳細は別添1をご参照ください。

Question: フレックスタイム制度はいつから適用されますか. Options: 本月1日, 来月1日, 来月15日, 来月1日ただし営業部門を除く.

Pre-reading the 件名 would reveal フレックスタイム制度導入; the body's first sentence 本月1日...導入が決定しました is the 決定日 trap. The second sentence contains 来月1日より適用を開始します — the matching 〜より適用 phrase. The correct answer is 来月1日. The fourth option is a conditional-answer trap: 営業部門を除く is true but adds a scope qualifier the question did not ask. Always lock the answer that matches the exact question word (いつから → 適用開始日).

Drill: Two-Pass Reading for Minutes Questions

When minutes contain more than three agenda items, use a two-pass drill:

1. First pass (5 sec) — read only the 議題 list (agenda titles) and match each title to the question's keyword. Identify the single agenda that can answer the question.
2. Second pass (15 sec) — read the 議事内容 of only that agenda plus the 決議事項 line below it. Skip every other agenda.

This drill keeps you inside the 30-second budget even for a 1,000-character minutes document. Most candidates waste 40+ seconds reading non-target agendas; the two-pass approach turns the same question into a 20-second solve.

Vocabulary to Memorize

通達, 回覧, 回覧板, 議事録, 議題, 議長, 書記, 決議, 採決, 保留, 付議, 上程, 決裁, 決裁欄, 承認, 承認欄, 既読欄, 回議, 起案, 主管, 主管部門, 担当, 担当者, 責任者, 決定事項, 報告事項, 懸案事項, 宿題事項, 持越し事項, 持ち越し事項, 次回議題, 次回, 開催予定, 出席者, 欠席者, 議事進行, 添付資料, 別添, 別紙, 条項, 前提, 条件, 議事録署名, 否決, 見送り, 審議, 検討.