世論 What Japan Thinks

This very detailed piece of research into women, housework and domestic appliances by Yahoo! Japan Value Insight revealed a lot of information about what the average Japanese kitchen looks like.

Demographics

Between the 9th and 12th of June 2010 800 women aged between 20 and 39 completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 25% fell into each of the age groups 20 to 24, 25 to 29, 30 to 34 and 35 to 39. 400 of the women in the sample were in full-time work, and 400 were either full-time housewives or out of work. All of them lived within the Tokyo area; either Tokyo itself or the neighbouring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa. Finally, those living with parents, siblings or other relatives, or living with friends were eliminated, thus all the working singles would be living alone.

Although I’ve detailed the demographics above, you’ll note that the totals in the questions below don’t add up to 800, but the reason for that is unclear.

In Q4 I’m also unsure of the difference between not wasting water and not sending too much down the drain.

Research results

Q1: About how often do you wash clothes? (Sample size=775)

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Almost every day	3.3%	26.6%	56.5%
Four to six days a week	12.8%	22.7%	28.0%
Two or three days a week	60.3%	43.5%	14.8%
Once a week	22.7%	6.5%	0.0%
Once every two weeks	0.4%	0.0%	0.0%
Once a month	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%
Less than that	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Don’t wash them myself	0.4%	0.6%	0.0%

Q2: At what time of day do you usually wash clothes? (Sample size=775)

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Weekday morning	9.9%	27.3%	66.2%
Weekday daytime	4.5%	3.2%	23.0%
Weekday evening	37.6%	44.8%	7.7%
Weekday nightime	3.7%	3.9%	1.8%
Weekend morning	16.1%	10.4%	0.8%
Weekend daytime	25.2%	9.7%	0.5%
Weekend evening	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Weekend nightime	2.9%	0.6%	0.0%

Q3: Which of the following apply to your food preparation? (Sample size=731)

	Working singles N=214	Working wives N=143	Housewives N=374
Often make use of shortcuts	91.1%	96.5%	89.6%
Make food with little preparation time	97.2%	92.3%	89.6%
Tidying up afterwards isn’t a bother	81.8%	74.1%	64.4%
Make food cheaply, with little waste	89.3%	82.5%	86.4%
Make well-balanced meals	63.1%	72.7%	82.4%
Make food rich in vitamins, fibre, or otherwise healthy	55.1%	58.7%	55.9%
Don’t make food loaded with calories	61.2%	58.7%	53.7%
Prepare food properly, with full flavour, quality, etc	36.9%	50.4%	46.0%
Don’t take shortcuts, don’t skimp on flavour, make out of the ordinary food	29.0%	46.2%	44.9%
Make lots of dishes	27.6%	42.7%	45.2%

Q4: Which of the following apply to your clothes washing? (Sample size=775)

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Don’t put in manual effort	82.6%	80.5%	74.9%
Complete it in a short time	75.2%	73.4%	69.4%
Not tiring	70.7%	74.7%	63.1%
Try to do everything myself without sending to the cleaners	86.0%	80.5%	83.1%
Don’t use too much water, don’t waste water	53.3%	69.5%	81.3%
Don’t use too much electricity	53.7%	63.0%	67.0%
Try to send as little waste water as possible down the drain	40.1%	46.1%	47.2%
Use a washing powder, liquid that is kind on both the body and environment	35.1%	41.6%	37.5%
Don’t make noise	57.0%	61.7%	50.7%
Wash things carefully	52.5%	55.8%	63.6%

Q5: Which of the following apply to your housework, lifestyle? (Sample size=773)

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=152	Housewives N=379
Housework is a lot of fun	28.1%	29.2%	31.4%
Don’t feel easy if I cut corners doing the housework	24.4%	32.5%	38.0%
Actively gather information and tips regarding housework	39.7%	49.4%	52.5%
I have friends who pass on information and tips regarding housework	29.3%	36.4%	24.8%
I pass on information and tips regarding housework to friends	28.1%	32.5%	32.5%
I want to try out in vogue household items, tools	26.9%	33.8%	29.3%
I want to try out household items, tools with the latest technology	29.3%	33.1%	33.2%
If possible I eat regularly, nutritionally balanced, etc	55.4%	61.7%	72.3%
I take care if possible not to eat too much fat, calories	59.5%	59.7%	62.3%
I try to pick natural ingredients over those with fertiliser, genetically-modified, etc	32.2%	43.5%	42.0%
I try to do light exercise, sports, etc	39.3%	38.3%	33.8%
I try not to waste electricity, gas, water, other natural resources	49.6%	61.0%	71.0%
In order to save money, I skimp on time, effort	49.2%	44.2%	54.1%
I’m usually aware of trying not to throw out rubbish, waste water	30.2%	36.4%	39.1%
I actively want to buy domestic appliances if they can cut down on electricity, water usage, etc	38.0%	56.5%	44.6%
Even if it costs some money, I actively want to use methods that allow me to save time	24.4%	37.0%	22.2%
Even if it costs some money, I actively want to use methods that allow me to reduce manual effort	33.5%	42.9%	21.9%

Q6: Which of the following domestic appliances do you have? (Sample size=775)

Kitchen

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Refrigerator	97.1%	99.4%	98.2%
Rice cooker	90.9%	98.1%	96.6%
Washing machine	86.0%	98.1%	97.4%
Microwave oven/cooker	68.6%	79.2%	82.3%
Hot plate	24.8%	55.8%	59.9%
Water purifier	21.1%	44.8%	34.6%
Mixer	16.9%	31.8%	37.2%
Food processor, blender	13.6%	42.9%	33.8%
Coffee maker	16.1%	25.3%	31.9%
Dishwasher	2.9%	26.6%	20.3%
Home bakery	7.0%	13.6%	22.2%
Espresso maker	5.0%	15.6%	5.3%
Juicer	8.3%	15.6%	13.5%
Electric pressure cooker, electric boiling pot	4.1%	12.3%	7.1%
Steam cooker	1.7%	4.5%	3.2%
Wine cellar	1.7%	5.2%	1.8%
Composter	0.8%	2.6%	3.2%

Clothes washing

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Washing machine (with no dryer functions)	81.0%	60.4%	68.1%
Clothes dryer, Washing machine with built-in dryer	22.7%	44.8%	39.3%

Ironing, etc

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Iron	81.0%	94.8%	89.2%
Trouser press	1.2%	11.0%	5.8%
Clothes steamer	6.6%	7.1%	2.9%

Air purifier, etc

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Humidifier	35.1%	53.9%	70.4%
Air purifier	16.9%	44.8%	44.1%

Health items

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Scales with built-in features for fat levels, BMI, muscle weight, etc	40.1%	53.9%	52.8%
Pedometer, calorie counter	12.4%	14.3%	14.2%
Massage chair, massage sofa	2.5%	5.2%	3.4%

Other

	Working singles N=242	Working wives N=154	Housewives N=379
Rechargable batteries	29.3%	34.4%	33.0%
Quilt, futon dryer	15.3%	27.9%	27.7%
Facial steamer, other facial devices	21.5%	24.7%	13.2%
LED light bulbs	5.8%	12.3%	11.6%