世論 What Japan Thinks

A recent survey from the Cabinet Office Japan looked at Japan’s three large metropolitan areas, specifically at international development and preserving the green belt and other green areas.

Demographics

Between the 15th of July and 1st of August 2010 5,000 people randomly selected from resident registeries all over the country were approached for face-to-face interviews. 3,283 people, or 65.7% were available and agreed to take part. 51.9% of the sample were female, 12.3% in their twenties, 15.4% in their thirties, 16.5% in their forties, 18.1% in their fifties, 20.5% in their sixties, and 19.2% aged seventy or older.

Q5SQ is interesting from my foreigner perspective and coming from a country where inward investment is a key strategy, with only one in five Japanese in favour of it. Perhaps the term is not too familiar, but from what I have heard there are a lot of barriers preventing entry by foreign corporations, so many items end up being produced under licence by local firms.

Research results

First, the respondents were shown a card that defined “Japan’s large metropolitan areas” as the Tokyo area of Tokyo metropolitan area, Saitama prefecture, Chiba prefecture, and Kanagawa prefecture; the Kansai area of Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo prefecture and Nara prefecture; and the Nagoya area of Aichi prefecture, Gifu prefecture and Mie prefecture.

Q1: Do you feel the attraction of Japan’s large metropolitan areas? (Sample size=3,283)

Yes	25.6%
Perhaps do	33.8%
Perhaps don’t	21.9%
No	17.0%
Don’t know	1.8%

Q2: What do you think are the attractive aspects of Japan’s large metropolitan areas? (Sample size=3,283, multiple answer)

Convenient transport	63.4%
Rich variety of shops, goods	57.3%
Lots of opportunities to experience the arts, culture	38.7%
Lots of opportunities to pick up various bits of information	36.2%
Vibrant	31.3%
Sufficient medical care, social welfare	27.6%
Lots of job opportunities in fields I desire	23.9%
Rich internationalisation	21.7%
Plentiful education resources	20.5%
Nothing in particular	8.1%
Other	0.1%
Don’t know	1.5%

Q3: What do you think are the unattractive aspects of Japan’s large metropolitan areas? (Sample size=3,283, multiple answer)

Property, land is expensive	55.1%
Terrible traffic jams	50.7%
Air pollution concerns	47.9%
Little natural environment	40.2%
Housing is densely-packed	39.8%
Lots of people	38.7%
Noisy	37.2%
Poor public safety	26.2%
Poor scenery	15.1%
Nothing in particular	4.9%
Other	0.6%
Don’t know	2.4%

Next, the respondents were shown a card with the following text:

“Japan’s large metropolitan areas have been a driving force behind the country’s growth, but other Asian metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, and Tianjin have been luring foreign capital and otherwise promoting their international competitiveness. Furthermore, in 2000 Japan was third in the world rankings of GDP per person, but by 2008 had fallen to 23rd. Additionally, Japan’s share of world GDP was 14.3% in 1990, but in 2008 had shrunk to 8.9%.”

Q4: Had you heard that Japan’s international competitiveness had dropped? (Sample size=3,283)

Yes	76.9%
No	23.1%

Q5: A viewpoint is that in order to increase Japan’s international competitiveness, the large metropolitan areas should aim to be a base for the flow of people and goods thoughout Asia and the world. Do you agree with this? (Sample size=3,283)

Yes (to SQ)	38.3%
Perhaps (to SQ)	40.0%
Perhaps no	10.0%
Not at all	2.6%
Don’t know	9.2%

Q5SQ: What do you think is needed in order to increase the international competitiveness of Japan’s large metropolitan regions? (Sample size=2,569, multiple answer)

Develop, maintain highly-skilled human resources	64.6%
Promote Japanese research and development	58.1%
Promote international exchange of human resources	42.9%
Proactively promote information overseas about the charms of Japan	40.2%
Strengthen international exchange, logistics	35.3%
Promote a built environment that embodies Japan’s history, culture	31.8%
Speed up, simplify government procedures	30.8%
Strengthen public safety, disaster prevention	25.9%
Promote inward investment by foreign corporations	19.5%
Other	0.4%
Don’t know	1.2%

Next, the respondents were shown a card with the following text:

“In Japan, there is a rich array of public facilities (roads, bridges, sewerage, schools, etc), but there is also a problem regarding the deterioration of some of these facilities. Each facility has a different lifetype, but on the whole after about 50 or 60 years they need to be rebuilt. In particular, between the 1950s and 1970s the large metropolitan areas built many public facilities, so there are already some that need replacement, and in the future even more will need to be rebuilt.”

Q6: Did you know that public facilities in large metropolitan areas are deteriorating? (Sample size=3,283)

Yes	71.8%
No	28.2%

Q7: In order to replace these deteriorating public facilities, the people will need to pay more than they do today. Regarding this increased burden, what do you think? (Sample size=3,283)

Even if the burden increases, all facilities should be promptly replaced	7.7%
So as not to increase the burden too much, a priority should be established with the most urgent done first, and eventually everything gets replaced	65.5%
If the burden is to increase, it’s not necessary to replace everything	23.1%
Other	0.8%
Don’t know	2.8%

Q8: A viewpoint is that not only should national and local government alone replace these public facilities, but private enterprise also should get involved. What do you think about that? (Sample size=3,283)

Agree	45.8%
Perhaps agree	39.0%
Perhaps disagree	7.5%
Disagree	2.9%
Other	4.7%