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1. When is your birthday? How do you celebrate your birthday these days?
2. Where were you born? How old was your mother at the time? What do you know about your birth*?
3. To what generation do you belong to**? Do you feel lucky to have been born into that generation? Why?
4. What is your birth order (e.g. first son, second child)? How much older and younger are your siblings? Do you feel fortunate about your birth order? Why?
5. Do you have kids? If yes, what do you remember about their birth(s)? If not, would you like to have kids? Why?
6. Japan has a rapidly falling birth rate and an impending population crisis. Tell me about one thing you have heard about that families, celebrities, local governments, central government, businesses or non-profits have done to encourage more births in Japan.

* time of day, location (home/hospital), complications at birth, duration of labor, first visits from family etc. ** 1920~1949 = "Interwar Baby", 1950~1069 = "Baby Boomer", 1970~1985 = "Generation X", 1986~1999 = "Millennial", 2000~ = "Centennial"

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Question 1

My birthday is on 11th March - the same day as the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. These days I like to go to a restaurant with my family. No more drinking beer with my friends until late at night.

Question 2

I am from New Zealand but I was born in England. My mother gave birth to me when she was about 30 or 31 which is a little late for a first child in those days. I know I was a few weeks early but I am not sure of the exact timing.

Question 3

I belong to Generation-X. I think my generation has the coolest name. My generation grew up without so much technology but we experienced the introduction of what is common nowadays. I feel lucky to have had a childhood free of i-phones.

Question 4

I am the first born son in my family and the first born grandson for my mother's parents.

Question 5

Yes, I have a son. He is my first child and is only 8 months old so I remember his birth crystal clear. My wife was in labour for 44 hours.

Question 6

I read that a town called Nagicho managed to increase its fertility rate from 1.4 to about 1.9 in 2017 by offering new mums a “gift” of 300,000 yen, as well as subsidies for childcare, housing, health and education.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
crystal clear	はっきり
subsidies	交付金
fertility rate	出生率