世論 What Japan Thinks

Another survey that MyVoice performed at the start of July was on environmental issues and MOTTAINAI. 12,326 members of their MyVoice monitor community successfully completed a private internet questionnaire; 54% of the sample was female, 3% in their teens, 22% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 24% in their forties, and 12% in their fifties.

MOTTAINAI, or to translate, “what a waste”, is a Japanese word cleverly adopted by Wangari Muta Maathai and her Greenbelt Movement, and clumsily, in my opinion, adopted by Japanese businesses in order to flog more tat or to appear green. It may be worth pointing out that another environmental campaign, Cool Biz, has, I fear, dropped out of the public awareness as a real measure, and has become merely lipservice towards environmentalism. One of the train companies I use during my commute, for instance, said in their fortnightly free paper that the company would be supporting Cool Biz by setting the air conditioner to 26°C in most carriages, and 27°C in the lightly air-conditioned carriages. However, it’s cold enough most mornings and evenings to give me goose-pimples in shirt sleeves, and in fact last weekend I checked an in-carriage thermometer and it was reading 20°C in the lightly air-conditioned carriage. MOTTAINAI indeed!

Q1: Do you know about the MOTTAINAI campaign? (Sample size=12,326)

I know the details	19.4%
I’ve heard the word	44.3%
Don’t know it	36.4%

I presume those who say they’ve hear the word mean in terms of environmental campaigning, not just in unrelated everyday conversation.

Q2: Do you know Wangari Maathai? (Sample size=12,326)

I know her and what sort of work she does	15.9%
I’ve heard the name but don’t know what sort of work she does	38.3%
Don’t know anything about her	45.5%
No answer	0.3%

Q3: In your daily life, do you feel MOTTAINAI? (Sample size=12,326)

Frequently feel so	34.0%
Sometimes feel so	60.3%
Don’t really feel so	4.0%
Never feel so	1.1%
Don’t know what “mottainai” feels like	0.6%

Q4: Please select which of the following parts of the MOTTAINAI campaign you know about. (Sample size=12,326, multiple answer)

When Mattai Wangari came to Japan in 2005, she felt empathy with MOTTAINAI, and the campaign began	42.8%
Promotion of the 3Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) and aiming for a society that effectively uses natural resources	33.2%
Wangari wants to spread MOTTAINAI as a means of expressing the 3Rs during her travels around the world.	21.5%
Artists have written songs, produce manga, etc to support and spread the campaign	10.8%
Profits from products based around the MOTTAINAI idea are donated to the Green Belt movement	9.4%
Don’t know any of them	41.4%
No answer	0.6%

Q5: Please select which of the following you take to heart in your daily life in order to reduce unnecessary consumption. (Sample size=12,326, multiple answer)

Separate rubbish before disposal and use recycled paper	68.3%
Don’t buy or use more than I need	50.1%
Economise on resources and energy	45.5%
Use hand-me-downs and second-hand goods	34.1%
Refuse stuff that will just get thrown away	33.1%
Devise ways to effectively reuse broken stuff in another way	23.2%
Use repaired goods	20.8%
Proactively use ecological products	16.9%
Raise awareness in children and young people	13.7%
Rent rather than buy	12.7%
Donate money	6.5%
Other	1.6%
Nothing in particular	9.7%
No answer	0.2%

Q6: Please select from the following initiatives for forestry conservation that industry takes the ones that you can appreciate. (Sample size=12,326, up to three answers)

Research and develop techniques to reduce forest destruction	59.9%
Take part in tree planting and other activities	46.8%
Convert to industries that use techniques that reduce forest destruction	44.4%
Subsidise or take part in investigations into the ecosystem	33.7%
Contribute volunteer manpower towards tree planting activities	27.3%
Set up a foundation, etc, for tree planting	20.2%
None of them	11.4%
No answer	0.3%