世論 What Japan Thinks

This week’s fun from goo Ranking is a look at the secrets of keeping that newly-wed feeling going, for both men and women.

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample. I’m not sure if unmarried people were excluded or asked to imagine what they should do.

Looking at the men’s list, I know to my cost that number two is very, very important, but I’m not sure that number ten is really advisable as a general rule!

Talking of newly-weds, one of my Japanese colleagues recently got married, and shortly afterwards went off to a work drinking party where the long-time married guys were giving him advice. The key was to be really selfish for the first month so that the ground rules get established, as being too cooperative straight off the bat would only lead to trouble further down the line!

Ranking results

Q: What is your secret for keeping that newly-wed feeling? (Sample size=502, men)

Rank		Score
1	Express thanks in words for what your partner does	100
2	Listen closely to your partner’s talk	93.0
3	Be sure to celebrate anniversaries	62.0
4	Make time for dates for just the two of you	60.1
5	Don’t sleep in separate rooms	55.8
6	Have shared hobbies	53.9
7	Praise one’s partner	51.2
8	Go off on holiday together once a year	46.9
9	Be sure to greet each other even when tired	43.0
10	Say what you want to say	36.4
11	Split the housework	34.5
12	Don’t hide things	31.0
13	Hold hands, link arms when walking together	28.7
14	Eat together once a day	28.3
15	Get in the bath together	27.5
16	Go to places that have special memories	26.7
17	Kiss frequently	26.4
18	Tell each other “I love you”	23.6
19	Don’t complain about your partner’s job	22.5
20	Exchange presents at times other than anniversaries	21.7

Q: What is your secret for keeping that newly-wed feeling? (Sample size=554, women)

Rank		Score
1	Express thanks in words for what your partner does	100
2	Listen closely to your partner’s talk	82.5
3	Praise one’s partner	56.3
4	Be sure to greet each other even when tired	55.0
5	Make time for dates for just the two of you	51.9
6	Don’t sleep in separate rooms	46.0
7	Have shared hobbies	45.8
8	Be sure to celebrate anniversaries	43.7
9	Don’t hide things	36.5
10	Go off on holiday together once a year	34.2
11	Split the housework	33.9
12	Eat together once a day	33.7
13	Say what you want to say	28.0
14	Don’t complain about your partner’s job	27.5
15	Hold hands, link arms when walking together	24.9
16	Wait up for your partner to return	24.7
17	Tell each other “I love you”	23.9
18	Don’t remove your wedding ring	22.1
19	Kiss frequently	21.9
20	Go to places that have special memories	21.3