Holiday

• How long do you have a holiday/vacation per year? 
• Which do you prefer, a lot of public holidays or paid holidays?
• What situation do you take paid holidays at? How do you spend on holiday? 
• What do you think about the school assignment and summer school? 
• Did you take 5 paid holidays this year? What do you think about this rule?
• Do you want your partner and children to take holidays? 
• How many days do you want for a holiday/vacation?
• If you can take long vacation and have much money, how do you spend?

Background of these questions is here. My friend in EU take long vacations, for example two times of 20 day vacation in summer and Christmas seasons. Some friends go to Africa and Greece to relax. During vacation, they stop the business email and do nothing, or just chatting with friends and family. The friend from US, who works in Japan, takes vacation for two weeks every summer and escapes abroad because Japanese summer is too hot and humid.

Organizer:

Hiro & Sayaka

Participant:

7 people

Summary:

We use around 5-15 days as paid holiday, which is taken for child care, sickness, and travel. If we have much money and long vacations, most of us might go travelling. Someone like hot spa in Japan, someone like space travel or evacuation, and the others like sightseeing and relaxation abroad.

Happy holiday!

Tax

Let's talk on tax.

• Did the increase of consumption tax to 10% change your everyday life? What did you buy before the tax increase? In purchasing, do you consider the tax difference between eating inside restaurant and catering?
• What kind of tax system is there in your country?
• If you can abolish or create tax system, what system do you focus on? What do you think soda, snack, and departure taxes?
• Where is tax used around you?
• Have you gotten the benefit from social security and public works? Then, how did you feel? 
• Have you felt that the tax money was wastefully spent? What situation?
• Anyway, did you submit year-end adjustment declaration?
• What did the introduction of tax-number system change for you?
• What do you think about the universal (basic) income project?
• If all tax become zero, what happen to you? How much is the best for tax?
• If you can decide how to use tax revenue, how do you use?

Organizer:
Hiro & Sayaka

Participant:

7 adults & 1 child

Summary:
We did not change our everyday life by increasing the consumption tax from 8% to 10%. On the other hand, someone thinks that the tax for lifeline, such as grocery and water, should be decreased. Additionally, nursery, pregnant, and birth should be supported more, in comparison with the other country, in which there is free childbirth cost. And, someone feels that the support for education, especially, literature, is lack of in Japan. Science and technology including Mars migration would enrich our life because we who have less natural resource always need technology.

Books

Let's talk on books.

• Do you like reading? What is the best book for you? 
• How do you choose books?
• Do you use library? Do you check the online review?
• How do you purchase books? Online or book store? New or used ones?
• After reading, do you keep or throw out books?
• How do you read books, newspaper, and magazines? paper or tablet?
• Have you read the recent books, like light novel and mobile novel?
• What do you think about the live action from books?
• Have you read books in English?
• What kind of books do you recommend to others? Why?
• When do you read books? Why not TV or internet?
• Which information do you believe in books, TV, or internet?

Organizers:
Hiro & Sayaka

The number of participants are 1 adult.

SNS

Let's talk on SNS, such as twitter, Facebook, slack, linked in, WhatsApp, mixi, Instagram, line, snow, ans so on.

• What kind of SNS are you using? What purpose are you using SNS for?
• What are pros and cons of SNS? What is convenience and inconvenience of SNS?
• Did you get new friends by SNS? Did you get closer to old friends through SNS?
• What is the communication difference among SNS, phone calling, bulletin board, and face-to-face? 
• What did you change before and after starting SNS? Do you keep to exchange new year's card or holiday card?
• What kind of information do you get from SNS? What do you spread?
• Do you have anything to care in use of SNS? For example, expand (retweet and good), flaming photo and movie, and privacy.
• When should we start to use SNS?

Organizer: 

Hiro

The number of participants are 6 adults and 1 child. High-school students are using Instagram, twitter, and line. Elder people are using only line or nothing, and they are satisfied with only e-mail and phone calling as the communication tool. Interestingly, most of people, who are independent on the age, use the post card for greeting. And, many people think that, even if the limited conditions, high school students should start to use their own smart phones because line is the popular tool to communicate with friends for them (it is too early for junior high school students). 

Summer preparation

Let's talk on the rainy season measures, the introduction of daylight-saving time, and cool business.

• How do you spend in the rainy day and intense-heat day? What do you prepare before coming such a season?
• What do you think about the introduction of daylight-saving time in Japan?
• What is the cool business? Are jacket and tie necessary for all seasons?
• Have you taken the vacation in summer to escape the intense heat?

Organizers:

Hiro & Sayaka 

The number of participants are 4 adults and 1 child. We discussed the daylight-saving time and long vacation in summer. 

Coexistence with animals

Let's discuss on the articles of BBC news; Japan whale hunting: Commercial whaling to restart in July and Japan Times; Japan to make carbon dating of ivory mandatory for trade, tightening controls on oft-criticized market.

Organizers:
Hiro and Sayaka

The number of participants was 12 adults and 3 children. We discussed the coexistence with animals, especially bears. One of solutions is perfectly to separate where we live. The issue in Japan is that our town is too near the animal territory. Do you have any idea?

Travel safety

Let's discuss about the travel safety.

Questions:

1. Have you traveled by yourself? What did you prepare for it? What did your friends say?
2. How old and how much experience is enough to travel abroad by yourself?
3. If your friends or children go abroad by themselves, what do you advice to them? 

Do you know Tabireji ? What kind of insurance plans do you take out in advance?

References:

• 10 travel safety tips you can learn from the CIA
• The MOFA's overseas travel safety information 
• Travel advisories of US travel state gov

Organizer: 

 Hiro

The number of participants was 8 adults and 4 children. We talked on the long holiday of 10 days.