July 7 is known as 七夕 (Tanabata, the Star Festival) in Japan. This is the night that the mythical deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, separated by the 天の川 (ama no gawa, Milky Way), are allowed to meet.

Back down on Earth, however, this year, July 7 is 投票日 (tōhyōbi, election day) in 東京 (Tōkyō, Tokyo) — not a time for lovers, but a time for rivals, decisions and democracy. The upcoming 選挙 (senkyo, election) for the role of 知事 (chiji, prefectural governor) is currently a big topic of discussion across the country because, after all, this is the person in charge of Japan’s 首都 (shuto, capital).

Even if you’re not a 東京都民 (Tōkyō tomin, Tokyo resident) or a 有権者 (yūken-sha, eligible voter), you can still take part in the conversation surrounding the 東京都知事選挙 (Tōkyo-to chiji senkyo, Tokyo gubernatorial election) if you are able to master a few words and terms surrounding 日本の政治 (Nihon no seiji, Japanese politics).

When it comes to a 議論 (giron, discussion), 討論 (tōron, debate) or 意見交換 (iken kōkan, exchange of opinions), it’s good to arm yourself with some handy expressions in order to navigate any conversations. Let’s look at a few in this example dialogue between Kenta, Mayumi and Andy:

健太: みんな都知事選についてどう思う？

真由美: まだ考えがまとまってないや。そういえば現職の知事はどれくらい公約を達成したのかな。アンディの意見も聞かせて。

アンディ: 僕からすると、若い候補者がどんな風に東京を変えたいかが気になるかな。

健太: その点ＳＮＳで支持を広げている人もいるみたいだけど、若者の投票率が低いことを考えると実際どうなのか分からないね。

真由美： まあ、まとめると、選挙を通じてもっと政治に参加しようって結論になるかな。

Kenta: Minna tochiji-sen ni tsuite dō omou?

Mayumi: Mada kangae ga matomattenai ya. Sō ieba genshoku no chiji wa dorekurai kōyaku o tassei shita no kana. Andī no iken mo kikasete.

Andī: Boku kara suru to wakai kōho-sha ga donna fū ni Tōkyō o kaetai ka ga ki ni naru kana.

Kenta: Sono ten esu-enu-esu de shiji o hirogete-iru hito mo iru mitai dakedo, wakamono no tōhyō-ritsu ga hikui koto o kangaeru to jissai dō nanoka wakaranai ne.

Mayumi: Mā matomeru to senkyo o tsūjite motto seiji ni sanka shiyō-tte ketsuron ni naru kana.

Kenta: Guys, what are your thoughts about the Tokyo gubernatorial election?

Mayumi: I haven’t organized my thoughts yet. Speaking of which, I wonder how successfully the current governor has fulfilled her promises. Andy, let us hear your opinion.

Andy: From my perspective, I’m curious about how young candidates want to change Tokyo.

Kenta: In that respect, some candidates seem to be gaining support on social networking sites, but considering the low voter turnout among young people, it’s hard to say what that will really amount to.

Mayumi: Well that settles it, the conclusion is that [we] should participate more in politics through voting.

The phrase ～についてどう思いますか (~ni tsuite dō omoimasu ka, what do [you] think about ~ ?) is a good conversation opener, especially when speaking about a broad topic. について (ni tsuite) on its own translates as “about” or “pertaining to,” which makes it a handy structure in other situations too, AIについての本はどこで買えますか？ (Ēai ni tsuite no hon wa doko de kaemasu ka, Where can I buy books about AI?)

It’s important to signal that you’re listening to the person speaking by using phrases like なるほど (naruhodo, I see) and 確かに (tashika ni, that’s true). In more formal conversations, simply lengthen such phrases: 確かにそれは一理ありますね (Tashika ni sore wa ichiri arimasu ne, That’s certainly a valid point). With this phrase, the listener lets the speaker know that they understand at least one 道理 (dōri, reason [logic]) in the speaker’s logic as an 一理 (ichiri, point), even if they are not fully convinced of the entire argument.

Is someone remaining quiet? You can say to them, ～さんの意見も聞かせてください (~san no iken mo kikasete kudasai, ~san, please let us hear your opinion). Or, more simply, ～さんはどう思いますか？ (~san wa dō omoimasu ka, What do you think, ~san?)

When clarifying your perspective, start off with a phrase like, 私の立場から言うと (watashi no tachiba kara iu to, speaking from my point of view), 私からすれば (watashi kara sureba, from my perspective) or 個人的には (kojin-teki ni wa, personally [speaking]). A 立場 (tachiba) is a “standpoint” or “point of view,” and you’ll notice that the first two phrases use から (kara, from). This approach also works when you’re speaking on behalf of another group: 都民からすれば税金の無駄遣いはやめてほしい (Tomin kara sureba zeikin no mudazukai wa yamete hoshii, From the perspective of Tokyo residents, the wasteful spending of taxes should be stopped).

Conjunctions like そういえば (sō ieba, speaking of which), ところで (tokorode, by the way) and その点 (sono ten, in that respect) will also help you interject examples and move through the conversation more smoothly.

For example, そういえば今回の出馬人数は過去最多らしい (Sōieba konkai no shutsuba ninzū wa kako-saita rashii, Speaking of which, the number of candidates running this time is apparently a record high).

If you’re looking to end your conversation, wrap things up with 結論としては (ketsuron to shite wa, to conclude) or まとめると (matomeru to, to sum it up). Putting a まあ (mā, gee/well) or やっぱり (yappari, after all/sure enough) in front will make you sound extra natural: やっぱり結論としては、誰が当選しても都民のための政治を期待しよう (Yappari ketsuron to shite wa, dare ga tōsen shitemo tomin no tame no seiji o kitai shiyō, Sure enough, no matter who wins, let’s hope for governance that benefits every Tokyo resident).

投票日は7月7日ですが、当日の投票が難しい場合は期日前投票に行きましょう (Tōhyōbi wa shichi gatsu nanoka desu ga, tōjitsu no tōhyō ga muzukashii baai wa kijitsu-zen [kijitsu-mae] tōhyō ni ikimashō, The voting date is July 7, but if you can’t vote on that day, consider going in for early voting). At the end of the day, once the 投票 (tōhyō, voting) is done, officials will be busy with 開票 (kaihyō, counting ballots) — a process that can also be summed up in one term, 投開票 (tōkaihyō, casting and counting votes). After that, we’ll have a 当選者 (tōsensha, winner) — and then we can all go out and celebrate 七夕.