世論 What Japan Thinks

If you miss the last train home, a good tip I hear is to spend the night in an internet cafe. To see how popular that and other activities are at these places, MyVoice recently performed a survey on this very topic of internet cafes.

Demographics

Over the first five days of March 2008 14,691 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% were female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 38% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 16% in their fifties.

Although I have never set foot in one, I have an image of internet cafes as dim and dingy places. I should really visit once just to confirm or dispel my prejudice, but as most will no doubt have a permanent fog of cigarette smoke I might not last more than a couple of minutes!

Last year one of the Words of the Year was Net Cafe Refugees, people working in casual cash-in-hand jobs by day, and dossing down in the cafe by night.

Research results

Q1: When you hear “Internet Cafe”, what sort of image do you get? (Sample size=14,691, multiple answer)

Net cafe refugees	54.0%
Geekish (otaku-like)	32.3%
Worries about security	29.5%
Cheap	25.4%
Not clean	24.3%
Difficult to enter	24.3%
Dark	23.3%
Easy to enter	21.9%
Small rooms	20.8%
Sufficient equipment	13.1%
Expensive	8.6%
Good service	4.8%
Insufficient equipment	3.4%
Poor service	2.8%
No worries about security	2.2%
Elegant	2.1%
Bright	1.8%
Spacious	1.3%
Clean	1.3%
Other	3.7%
Don’t know about internet cafes	7.5%
No answer	0.1%

Q2: About how often do you use internet cafes? (Sample size=14,691)

Almost every day (to SQs)	0.5%
Three or four days a week (to SQs)	0.2%
One or two days a week (to SQs)	0.7%
Twice or thrice a month (to SQs)	2.6%
Once a month or less (to SQs)	30.6%
Never used one, but would like to	23.6%
Never used one, and don’t want to	41.8%

Q2SQ1: For what purpose do you visit internet cafes to do? (Sample size=internet cafe users, multiple answer)

To read manga comics	55.6%
To use the internet	54.3%
To use the computers	40.5%
To fill free time	37.8%
To read newspapers, magazines	12.3%
To snooze	12.3%
To eat or drink	12.1%
To watch television, DVD	8.1%
To play online or console games	7.5%
To spend the night	6.1%
To use massage chair, sauna, etc	6.0%
To work, study	3.6%
Other	3.5%
No particular objective	1.9%
No answer	0.7%

Q2SQ2: How long per visit do you usually spend at internet cafes? (Sample size=internet cafe users)

30 minutes or less	6.0%
Up to one hour	26.1%
Up to two hours	31.8%
Up to three hours	24.4%
Up to six hours	9.0%
Longer than that	1.8%
No answer	0.9%

Q3: What sort of internet cafe would cause you to increase your frequency of use, start using? (Sample size=14,691, multiple answer)

Cheap	38.0%
More hygenic, improved cleanliness	33.7%
Strengthen safety	29.2%
Easy to enter atmosphere	28.2%
Spacious private rooms	23.2%
Separate smoking areas	22.0%
Tasty food	17.4%
Sufficient stocks of manga comic books	15.8%
Special services for regular customers	15.8%
Sufficient additional facilities	13.4%
High-spec computers	11.7%
Sufficient stocks of newspapers, magazines	7.5%
Sufficient stocks of DVDs	7.4%
Sufficient stocks of online games, console games	4.7%
Other	2.9%
Won’t increase visit frequency	29.4%
No answer	2.3%

Q4: What sort of place do you feel the atmosphere in an internet cafe resembles? (Sample size=14,691, multiple answer)

Game centre	31.2%
Capsule hotel	27.9%
Karaoke room	22.0%
Traditional coffee shop	16.0%
Book store, used book store	9.5%
Mah-jongg parlour	8.2%
Fast food restaurant	5.2%
Sauna	5.1%
Library	4.1%
Massage parlour	2.1%
Cinema	0.9%
Hotel	0.5%
Restaurant	0.3%
Theme park	0.2%
Art gallery	0.2%
Park	0.2%
Other	3.3%
Don’t resemble any other location	25.1%
No answer	1.6%