世論 What Japan Thinks

[part 1][part 2]

Recently, the Cabinet Office Japan took a detailed look at culture.

Demographics

Between the 11th and 15th of November 2009 3,000 people over the aged of twenty selected at random from resident lists all over the country were approached for interview. 1,853 people, or 61.8% were available and agreed to take part in face-to-face interviews. 52.6% of the sample were female, 8.7% in their twenties, 14.8% in their thirties, 17.6% in their forties, 16.6% in their fifties, 24.0% in their sixties, and 18.2% aged seventy or older.

Q14 is interesting in that traditional arts are what people think are most praised (not praiseworthy) worldwide. If traditional arts included bushido and ninjas, perhaps, but for the ones listed I hear they are worth seeing just once. Manga and anime are the most influential, I think, although perhaps not praised outside of a narrow demographic, and it is my personal mission to try to persuade as many of you that Takarazuka theatre should be experienced and hailed worldwide as a unique experience.

Research results

Q9: Do you have any children under the age of twenty? (Sample size=1,853)

Yes (to SQ)	28.4%
No	71.6%

Q9SQ: What kinds of experiences have they had in culture, arts? (Sample size=527, multiple answer)

Viewing a performance, etc, at school	59.0%
Studying music, dance, flower arranging, tea ceremony, calligraphy, etc	45.4%
Viewing, study tour at a local hall, theatre, museum, art gallery, other cultural facility	44.6%
Participating in a local performance, traditional festival	41.4%
Participating in drama at school	39.8%
Study tour of historical buildings, remains, etc	37.6%
Participating in a local cultural event such as music festival, drama festival, etc	36.6%
Other	0.0%
Nothing in particular	37.6%
Don’t know	0.4%

Q10: Do you think it is important for children to experience culture, arts? (Sample size=1,853)

Yes (to SQ)	93.1%
No	2.1%
Don’t know	4.9%

Q10SQ: What is important in order that children may experience culture, arts? (Sample size=1,725, multiple answer)

Sufficient opportunities to watch performances at school	58.3%
Sufficient opportunities to visit and view performances and exhibitions at cultural facilities such as halls, theatres, art galleries, museums	49.5%
Offer more opportunities to participate in traditional cultural local festivals, etc	46.0%
Hold local cultural events such as music festivals, drama festivals, etc to give them the opportunity to get familiar with culture and the arts	41.0%
Sufficient opportunities for study tours of historical buildings, remains, etc	39.9%
Sufficient opportunities to create performances at school	38.1%
Sufficient opportunities to study music, dance, flower arranging, tea ceremony, calligraphy, etc	30.3%
Other	0.7%
Nothing in particular	1.4%
Don’t know	0.8%

Q11: What effects would you expect to see from children experiencing culture and the arts? (Sample size=1,853, multiple answer)

Understanding of Japanese culture, instilling a love of their country, region	60.2%
Development of their aesthetic sense	51.9%
Gain an understanding of other people’s feelings	38.6%
Improvement of their communication ability	37.9%
Raising of their interest in people from other countries and cultures	35.7%
Improvement of their self-confidence in school activities	20.8%
Improvement of how they resolve problems they face	18.4%
Other	0.5%
No particular expectations	4.4%
Don’t know	3.0%

Q12: Other than through buying tickets, have you made any financial contributions towards culture or the arts? (Sample size=1,853)

Yes	9.1%
No	90.9%

Q13: What do you think is needed in order to create an environment where people make financial contributions towards the arts? (Sample size=1,853, multiple answer)

Clear accounting of use of contributed funds	42.3%
Active promotion of information on bodies to contribute to	30.5%
The ability to specify which areas, details of how contributions are to be used	24.8%
Tax breaks for contributions	21.7%
Sufficient special privileges offered by bodies to contribute to	15.6%
Internet-based contributions, other easy contributing methods	15.0%
Listing of contributors, sufficient other ways of expressing thanks to contributors	9.6%
Other	1.7%
Don’t know	19.1%

Additional materials explained the classifications in Q14 to the respondents: music included opera, orchestra, chamber music, chorus, brass band, jazz, etc; fine arts included painting, woodcuts, scuplture, industrial arts, pottery, calligraphy, photography, etc; media arts included manga comics, animation, computer art, video art, cinema, etc; traditional arts included gagaku (court music), noh, bunraku, kabuki, etc; literature includes novels, poetry, tanka, haiku, etc; lifestyle arts included tea ceremony, flower arranging, calligraphy, the game of go, etc; theatre included modern theatre, puppetry, musicals, etc; dance included Japanese dance, ballet, modern dance, contemporary dance, etc; entertainment included koudan (storytelling), rakugo (comic storytelling), roukyoku (recitation of stories accompanied by samisen), manzai (stand-up comedy), etc.

Q14: What Japanese culture and arts do you think are revered worldwide? (Sample size=1,853, multiple answer)

Traditional arts	64.7%
Historical buildings, remains	56.4%
Food culture	31.5%
Theatre, dance, performance	28.8%
Media arts	25.3%
Lifestyle arts	25.3%
Fine arts	24.7%
Literature	18.0%
Music (excluding J-Pop)	13.5%
J-Pop	6.2%
Other	0.2%
None in particular	2.6%
Don’t know	2.5%

Q15: In your daily life, how important do you think it is to experience, take part in culture and the arts? (Sample size=1,853)

Very important	28.6%
Important to a degree	59.8%
Not very important	6.3%
Not important at all	0.8%
Don’t know	4.4%

Q16: By contributing financially, with manpower, and otherwise supporting culture and the arts, people will feel closer to culture and the arts, inspiring their creativeness and emotions, thus contributing towards the liveliness of society and stimulating the economy. What do you think about that statement? (Sample size=1,853)

Agree	33.9%
Perhaps agree	44.8%
Perhaps disagree	9.2%
Disagree	3.9%
Don’t know	8.1%

Q17: In order to develop culture and the arts in the future, what in particular do you think the government should put effort towards? (Sample size=1,853, multiple answer)

Provide children with sufficient experiences of culture and the arts	48.6%
Develop human resources who can support culture and the arts	44.2%
Support continued management of cultural assets	41.9%
Support world-class performing and traditional arts	29.7%
Promote Japanese culture overseas, cultural exchanges	27.1%
Provide national-level cultural facilities such as museums and art galleries	25.8%
Hold cultural events such as music, theatre, film festivals	24.7%
Tax breaks for contributions towards cultural development	14.9%
Other	1.1%
Nothing in particular	4.7%
Don’t know	5.6%

[part 1][part 2]