世論 What Japan Thinks

The only convenience store close by my house closes about 10 pm, and anyway I’m too broke and too married these days to get up to much at the midnight hour. However, this recent survey from MyVoice into late night and 24 hour businesses shows that there’s a lot of people active in the small hours.

Demographics

Over the first five days of May 2008 14,350 members of the MyVoice Internet Community successfully completed a private online survey. 54% of the sample was female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 38% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 16% in their fifties.

Conspicuous by their absence in the list of late night operators are trains and buses. Most lines have their last train depart by midnight, with one reason being safety, to allow the operators four hours per night for essential maintenance. The other more cynical reason is that it keeps taxi drivers in business. It’s quite an amazing sight the first time you see taxis twenty deep outside the railway station after the last train departs!

Image from wukong on Flickr.

Research results

Q1: About how often do you use late night or 24 hour shops, facilities late at night (from 10 pm to 5 am)? (Sample size=14,350)

Almost every day	1.5%
Three or four days a week	3.5%
One or two days a week	8.7%
Few times a month	16.2%
Once a month or less	27.7%
Don’t visit these shops late at night	42.4%

Q2: What sorts of shops, facilities do you usually use late at night? (Sample size=late night shoppers, multiple answer)

Convenience store	88.0%
Supermarket	28.1%
Izakaya pub, bar	18.7%
Rental video shop	16.1%
Drinking, eating establishment other than pub	14.1%
Amusement facilities	10.9%
Bookshop	8.8%
Internet cafe	6.7%
Discount store	6.7%
Pharmacy, drug store	5.8%
Bathhouse, “health land”, spa	5.6%
Cinema	4.2%
Hotel	3.4%
Gym	0.7%
Esthetic, massage parlour	0.4%
Clothes shop	0.3%
Cleaning shop	0.3%
Hairdresser, barber	0.1%
Other	2.2%
No answer	0.6%

The suspicious sounding “health land” is just an innocent indoor water park, basically. However, I don’t know whether or not the esthetic and massage parlor is of the seedy variety.

Q3: Why do you use these shops, facilities late at night? (Sample size=late night shoppers, multiple answer)

Have things I want to buy	50.8%
Suddenly needed something	26.8%
Dropped in on the way back from work	20.5%
Wanted to drop in while I was out	16.8%
Friends, colleagues asked me	15.7%
Just because	10.4%
Only have free time late at night	9.3%
Wanted to occupy my free time	7.7%
To relieve stress	7.0%
Have things that I want to finish late at night	6.6%
To relax	5.5%
Can’t sleep	1.6%
Don’t want to go home	1.5%
Lonely by myself	1.2%
Other	4.2%
No answer	0.9%

Q4: Within the last year, what kinds of shops, facilities have you had problems with due to being shut late at night? (Sample size=14,350, multiple answer)

Pharmacy, drug store	15.2%
Bank counter, bank ATM	14.1%
Hospital	13.7%
Post office counter, post office ATM	9.2%
Bookshop	4.0%
Supermarket	3.5%
Cleaning shop	2.6%
Drinking, eating establishment other than pub	2.4%
Izakaya pub, bar	1.8%
Hairdresser, barber	1.7%
Convenience store	1.6%
Rental video shop	1.6%
Bathhouse, “health land”, spa	1.4%
Discount store	1.0%
Clothes shop	0.8%
Cinema	0.7%
Amusement facilities	0.6%
Gym	0.5%
Esthetic, massage parlour	0.4%
Hotel	0.4%
Internet cafe	0.3%
Other	1.2%
Not had a problem	56.0%
No answer	6.8%

Q5: In the future, what sorts of shops, facilities might you want to use late at night? (Sample size=14,350, multiple answer)

Pharmacy, drug store	25.4%
Convenience store	24.9%
Hospital	24.8%
Bank counter, bank ATM	24.7%
Post office counter, post office ATM	18.5%
Bookshop	17.3%
Supermarket	16.3%
Bathhouse, “health land”, spa	11.7%
Cinema	10.4%
Rental video shop	10.2%
Izakaya pub, bar	10.1%
Drinking, eating establishment other than pub	9.8%
Discount store	8.5%
Amusement facilities	7.8%
Hairdresser, barber	7.3%
Internet cafe	6.1%
Cleaning shop	5.7%
Gym	4.7%
Esthetic, massage parlour	4.2%
Hotel	3.3%
Clothes shop	2.7%
Other	1.7%
Don’t think I want to use any	26.6%
No answer	1.2%

Q6: What time is the middle of the night for you? (Sample size=14,350, multiple answer)

6 pm to 7 pm	0.0%
7 pm to 8 pm	0.0%
8 pm to 9 pm	0.4%
9 pm to 10 pm	1.1%
10 pm to 11 pm	9.3%
11 pm to midnight	30.3%
midnight to 1 am	41.6%
1 am to 2 am	11.1%
2 am to 3 am	4.7%
3 am to 4 am	0.8%
4 am to 5 am	0.2%
5 am to 6 am	0.0%
6 am to 7 am	0.0%
Other	0.2%
No answer	0.3%