世論 What Japan Thinks

The headline may very well be true, but as part of DIMSDRIVE’s 90th Research Ranking survey, they asked people what they thought the best free things in life were.

I have to pretty much agree with the rankings below; the mottainai part of me wants to disagree with the supermarket carrier bag option, but they always get reused at home as rubbish bags.

One might think that libraries are rather low in the list for a country that seems to like reading so much; perhaps two reasons are that many people buy their paperbacks either new or used, and that libraries don’t tend to stock much manga!

I think the “free newspapers” and “coupon magazines” have a lot of overlap as many free newspapers have coupons as a major part, and the quality of the articles leave a lot to be desired, but there are some exceptions, of course. Not that I’m biased for them plugging me, oh no…

Q: What do you think is the most useful free item or free service? (Sample size=4,761, free answer)

Rank		Votes
1	Various internet services	650
2	Pocket tissues	441
3	Free newspaper	324
4	Coupon magazine	186
5	Free samples	153
6	Water or mineral water	127
7	Supermarket carrier bag	101
8	Point cards	72
9	Libraries	66
10	Fresh air	50

Mineral water may seem like a strange entry, but there are quite a few places in Japan where there are springs from which you can draw as much water as you like. This category does not seem to include free hot springs, which again there are a number, though.

Q: What do you think is the most useful free item or free service? (Sample size=4,761, by sex, free answer)

Rank	Men N=2,537	Votes	Women N=2,224	Votes
1	Various internet services	428	Pocket tissues	245
2	Pocket tissues	196	Various internet services	222
3	Free newspaper	160	Free newspaper	164
4	Coupon magazine	57	Free samples	129
5	Water or mineral water	43	Coupon magazine	129
6	Fresh air	41	Water or mineral water	84
7	Free software	38	Supermarket carrier bag	70
8	Point cards	35	Libraries	41
9	Television	32	Point cards	37
10	Supermarket carrier bag	31	Television	14
10=	–	–	No yearly-fee credit card	14

I’m suprised to see people voting for television – are they all refusing to pay the dreaded NHK man?

Looking at the more detailed breakdown, about the only interesting choice I could see was that men in their sixties chose a parking permit or a parking space as the eighth best thing, which does seem a rather odd choice.