世論 What Japan Thinks

goo Research recently carried out a survey on Oseibo gifts, the traditional end of year gift-giving period in Japan, in conjunction with Yomiuri Shimbun and NTT Resonance. Just 1,079 people were questioned from their internet monitor group, but no breakdown by age or sex is reported, nor is the sample size for each individual question noted.

Luckily at my place of work there is no Oseibo bribery gift-giving custom from employee to boss, but we do get the occasional free calendar or diaries from associated companies, and a friend of the family usually gives us a couple of jars of instant coffee.

Q: What are the important points when choosing a gift? (Multiple answer)

Receiver’s likes	51.7%
Whether I’d be happy to receive the gift	43.6%
Receiver’s family make-up	20.4%
Price	20.4%
Send the same thing every year	16.7%
Well-known or trusted brands	6.3%
Whatever’s popular that year	2.5%
Other	2.1%

Q2: About how much is your average budget per gift?

Up to 2000 yen	3.1%
2000 to 4000 yen	54.9%
4000 to 6000 yen	38.5%
6000 to 8000 yen	1.8%
8000 to 10,000 yen	0.9%
10,000 to 20,000 yen	0.7%
Over 20,000 yen	0.1%

Q3: This year, to how many people do you plan to send gifts?

One or two people	54.4%
Three to five people	35.6%
Six to nine people	7.3%
Ten or more people	2.7%

Q4: This year, who do you plan to send gifts to? (Multiple answer)

Parents	50.4%
Other relatives	39.2%
Friends not related to work	21.5%
Boss	17.0%
Work associates or customers	13.9%
Nakodo	10.5%
Workmates or subordinates	2.8%
Other	4.5%

Q5: Why do you send Oseibo gifts? (Up to two answers)

Because the person has recently helped me out	70.1%
Because the person in the past has helped me out	38.8%
Because the person will also send me a gift	14.5%
No particular reason	8.8%
In order to keep harmony in work relationships	6.3%
Because it’s good manners to send to a boss, etc	2.8%
Other	1.3%

Q6: This year, from where will you buy your Oseibo gift? (Up to two answers)

Department store	66.7%
Internet	26.7%
Supermarket	20.1%
Confectioner or other specialised store	7.3%
Mail order catalogue	4.3%
Convenience store	1.3%
Other	6.6%

Q7: This year, what Oseibo gifts do you think you want to send? (Up to three answers)

Beer	26.4%
Famous local produce	25.0%
Ham or sausages	18.3%
Tea or coffee	17.0%
Western-style sweets	15.9%
Catalogue gift token	14.9%
Free-use gift token	12.2%
Soap or washing powder	9.6%
Seasonings	7.8%
Complete meal ingredients set	6.9%
Japanese-style sweets	5.8%
Fruit juice	5.5%
Wine	5.0%
Canned goods	4.1%
Dried salted goods (herring roe, salmon, etc)	3.8%
Seaweed	3.5%
Imported alcohol	1.8%
Soy-preserved foods	1.3%
Flowers	1.1%
Socks, shirts, etc	0.4%
None of the above	0.0%
Others	3.2%
No plans to send anything	24.0%

Q8: What would you be most happy to receive as an Oseibo gift?

Free-use gift token	27.3%
Beer	13.5%
Famous local produce	12.7%
Catalogue gift token	10.2%
Ham or sausage	6.6%
Western-style sweets	5.7%
Tea or coffee	4.2%
Soap or washing powder	3.3%
Complete meal ingredients set	3.2%
Wine	2.3%
Domestic alcohol	2.2%
Fruit juice	1.4%
Seasonings	1.3%
Japanese-style sweets	1.0%
Imported alcohol	0.9%
Seaweed	0.7%
Canned goods	0.7%
Dried salted goods (herring roe, salmon, etc)	0.5%
Flowers	0.2%
Soy-preserved foods	0.1%
Socks, shirts, etc	0.1%
None of the above	0.7%
Other	1.1%

Q9: What would you be least happy to receive as an Oseibo gift?

Socks, shirts, etc	14.8%
Flowers	10.5%
Soy-preserved foods	9.6%
Beer	8.2%
Dried salted goods (herring roe, salmon, etc)	7.5%
Domestic alcohol	7.0%
Soap or washing podwer	7.0%
Imported alcohol	5.9%
Ham or sausage	3.6%
Seaweed	3.2%
Seasonings	2.0%
Wine	2.0%
Japanese-style sweets	1.9%
Canned goods	1.7%
Catalogue gift token	1.6%
Famous local produce	1.2%
Fruit juice	1.0%
Western-style sweets	1.0%
Complete meal ingredients set	0.7%
Tea or coffee	0.7%
Free-use gift token	0.3%
None of the above	7.7%
Other	1.0%

In the last two answers, I’ve not sure how None of the above and Other differ!