世論 What Japan Thinks

goo Research recently conducted a survey, reported on by japan.internet.com, into electronic versions of physical newspapers.

Demographics

Between the 13th and 18th of February 2014 1,075 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.7% of the sample were male, 13.7% in their teens, 15.6% in their twenties, 21.0% in their thirties, 17.3% in their forties, 14.9% in their fifties, and 17.5% aged sixty or older.

Research results

Q1: Do you regularly buy a paper newspaper? If so, how many do you buy on a daily basis? (Sample size=1,075)

Yes, one	56.1%
Yes, two	6.0%
Yes, three	0.1%
No, none	38.8%

Next people were asked if they read on a daily basis electronic versions of newspapers, and 164 people, or 15.3% of the original sample, said they did. Note, if by “electronic version” they imply a PDF or app-based reproduction of the newspaper I do find the numbers a little high, but conversely if web sites count too, I find the number a little low. The question text implies the literal interpretation in my opinion, but the follow-up question implies the wider definition. Perhaps the actual question qualified it by saying starting from the newspaper’s web site front page and reading interesting stories counted, but just clicking direct links from aggregators didn’t?

Q2: How many online newspapers do you read on a daily basis? (Sample size=164)

One	56.1%
Two	22.6%
Three	12.8%
Four or more	8.5%

Q3: How many online newspapers have you registered for? (Sample size=164)

One	36.0%
Two	17.1%
Three	3.0%
Four or more	1.2%
None	42.7%

Q3SQ: Are these newspaper registrations free or paid? (Sample size=94)

All free	77.7%
All paid	16.0%
Some free, some paid	6.4%