By Ken Y-N (
November 22, 2005 at 23:41)
· Filed under Polls, Society
[ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 ]
Continuing on from part two, the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan (that seems to be the official title anyway), conducted a wide-ranging survey regarding the people of Japan’s everyday life. This is rather a large survey, so it will be published in three parts on subsequent days. 6,924 people participated in the poll, conducted by face-to-face interviews in various areas throughout Japan. In this section, many Japanese say they want to live away from their children in their old age, and work is defined by salary.
Q13: In your opinion, normally with whom and how is the best way to live in old age?
| Live with son (and wife if applicable) |
15.1% |
| Live near son (and wife if applicable) |
8.7% |
| Live with daughter (and husband if applicable) |
5.7% |
| Live near daughter (and husband if applicable) |
7.2% |
| Either son or daughter is best |
10.6% |
| Live separate from children |
38.0% |
| Other |
1.8% |
| Don’t know |
12.8% |
Q14: What sort of meaning does 家庭 (katei, family, household) hold for you? (Multiple answer)
| Where there is family harmony |
61.5% |
| Where there is peace and relaxation |
55.5% |
| Where family bonds are strengthened |
46.2% |
| Where parents and children grow up together |
35.8% |
| Where children live and grow up |
25.8% |
| Where a couple’s love is nurtured |
25.0% |
| Where children are brought up |
18.2% |
| Where parents are looked after |
11.6% |
| Other |
0.3% |
| Don’t know |
2.8% |
Q15: What is the objective of your work? Choose the one answer closest to your way of thinking.
| I work to get money |
53.7% |
| I work to find a purpose in life |
19.8% |
| I work to fulfil my duties as a member of society |
11.5% |
| I work to demonstrate my own skills and brainpower |
7.6% |
| Other |
1.7% |
| Don’t know |
5.7% |
Q16: There are lots of kinds of jobs out there. What do you think is your sort of ideal job? Choose up to two from the following. (Multiple answer)
| Job with stable income |
52.2% |
| Job that is enjoyable for me |
44.2% |
| Job suited to my specialised knowledge or brainpower |
29.4% |
| Job with no worry about unemployment |
16.4% |
| Job free from health worries |
16.1% |
| Job for the benefit of society |
11.8% |
| Job that can be well-paying |
9.1% |
| Other |
0.4% |
| Don’t know |
3.4% |
Q17: Regarding salary and free time, would you rather free time increased or salary increased? Choose which is closest to your way of thinking.
| Increase salary |
43.9% |
| Increase free time |
31.2% |
| I cannot say one is better |
22.1% |
| Other |
0.4% |
| Don’t know |
2.4% |
Q18: In the future, in which areas do you think the government should put effort into? (Multiple answer)
| Foreign affairs, international co-operation |
25.0% |
| Self-defence, security |
19.7% |
| Administrative reform |
18.4% |
| Decentralisation |
7.6% |
| Fiscal structure reforms |
15.5% |
| Cost-of-living measures |
31.4% |
| Economic measures |
53.5% |
| Financial system reforms |
8.4% |
| Information technology promotion |
4.9% |
| Deregulation, new business development financial reforms |
6.5% |
| Employment issues |
37.0% |
[ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 ]
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darg said,
November 24, 2005 @ 02:02
On the whole, I’d just like to comment that the figures shown throughout the entire survey were pretty depressing if you ask me. It’s not only the fact that more people see their lives as below average than above, but when asked what would make them happy it didn’t seem to me like they knew or even thought about what that would be.やっぱしょうがないと思ってるかな。Most people seem to be pretty down on themselves and their lives according to the numbers as well - roughly half think of themselves as average and not improving. Also, more people answered that their lifestyle was below average and/or getting worse than above average and/or improving. If you add that up though, that means the average person sees themselves as below average!
Also, I can’t say I was surprised, but I was dissapointed by the fact that people are more concerned with money than with finding a fulfilling or gratifying job. It sounds like regardless of how much time they spend at work, they don’t think that they have to enjoy themselves while doing it since it’s just for money. Depressing.
Seron said,
November 24, 2005 @ 13:25
Thanks for the comment, darg.
It’s interesting to see surveys like this that back up a lot of the stereotypes that we often build up about the Japanese. I’d love to see the results of similar questions in the US or UK. Q15 was most depressing, only 7% working to demonstrate their own skills. I don’t know if the original Japanese had connotations of showing off to make it less popular, but I would have hoped that most professionals would choose that option.
Lifestyles of the Japanese (2007 version): part 3 of 3 » 世論 What Japan Thinks said,
September 27, 2007 @ 22:44
[…] The Cabinet Office Japan recently released the results of a survey they conducted into citizens’ lifestyles. I translated a survey on the same topic conducted two years ago, which may be useful as a cross-reference. See also part 3 of the survey from 2005. […]