世論 What Japan Thinks

Here’s a survey I translated last month but it fell through a crack and I forgot to publish it! It was performed by DIMSDRIVE Research, and looked at book purchasing.

Demographics

Between the 29th of October and the 13 of November 2008 9,566 members of the DIMSDRIVE monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.2% of the sample were male, 1.1% in their teens, 12.8% in their twenties, 31.3% in their thirties, 31.4% in their forties, 16.1% in their fifties, and 7.3% aged sixty or older.

This was one of these surveys that I really liked the idea of, but as I started translating it I realised it wasn’t living up to my expectations, thus I ended up laying it aside and forgetting about its existance!

Note that books here include manga comics in book form, I believe. I’d have loved to have seen the average spend per person per month on books, how many of their monthly book purchases are from second-hand stores, and how often people swap or borrow books with friends or from libraries.

Research results

Q1: About how many books do you usually read? (Sample size=9,566)

Ten or more books a month	6.9%
Six to nine books a month	3.5%
Four or five books a month	7.7%
Two or three books a month	20.0%
One book a month	14.8%
One book every two or three months	13.2%
One book every six months	8.1%
One book a year	4.6%
Less than that	11.9%
Don’t read books	9.3%

There was surprisingly little variation by age group. Those in their teens were the keenest readers, but only by a few percentage points.

Q2: What genres of books do you read the most? (Sample size=6,321, those reading more than one book every three months, multiple answer)

推理小説	41.4%
Hobbies (film, travel, cars, etc)	31.9%
Nonfiction	28.6%
Essay	28.5%
Science fiction, fantasy, horror	26.8%
Living, lifestyle	25.9%
Historical novels	24.7%
Business, economy	21.9%
Other novels	21.7%
Computer	19.4%
Education (qualifications, test, reference, etc)	16.4%
Romance	14.8%
Current affairs, politics	11.6%
Picture books, children’s books	8.2%
Pets	5.0%
Fortune telling, psychological tests	4.8%
Other	3.0%
Don’t know, none in particular	1.8%

Q3: Where do you often buy books? (Sample size=6,321, those reading more than one book every three months, multiple answer)

Regular bookshop	82.2%
Internet bookshop	42.9%
Used book shop	31.9%
Convenience store	8.1%
Supermarket, shopping mall	3.9%
Regular purchasing scheme (book club?)	2.4%
Bazaar, fleamarket, etc	2.1%
Railway station kiosk, etc	2.0%
Company, school	1.2%
Other	1.3%
Don’t buy books myself	6.3%

Q4: What things are important when buying a book? (Sample size=5,925, those buying books, multiple answer)

Contents	71.0%
Author	54.9%
Price	39.4%
Best-seller, topic of conversation	14.1%
Length of series	12.3%
Book band, promotional catch-copy, introduction	11.5%
Hardcover or softcover	10.7%
State of the book (not sunbleached, etc)	9.3%
Book physical size, weight	7.6%
If it’s a series	6.9%
Published date	5.8%
Cover design	5.6%
Publisher	5.5%
Print size	5.4%
Illustrations	5.2%
Award-winning	4.6%
If it has been made into a drama, film	4.5%
Amount of printed type	3.7%
First edition	1.6%
Other	1.3%
Nothing in particular	4.3%

Q5: When choosing a book at an online bookshop, do you reference user reviews in online bookshops? (Sample size=2,709, those buying books online)

Always reference	12.3%
Often reference	24.4%
Sometimes reference	40.3%
Rarely reference	16.3%
Never reference	5.9%
Don’t buy reviewed books, didn’t know there were reviews	1.8%