世論 What Japan Thinks

I don’t know how these numbers compare with elsewhere in the world, but the results of this survey from VLC (Value Create) into toilets produced a few quite interesting results.

Demographics

Over the 19th and 20th of September 2013 1,045 members of VL Crew completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was 50:50 male and female, and 20.0% in each of the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties and sixties age groups.

My home toilet has both a heated seat (lovely) and a bum squirter (yuk!). I used it once or twice when we first got it, but quite frankly I couldn’t see the point, and all the water down there melts toilet paper when I try to dry off afterwards.
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Today is a bunch of questions from @nifty around the theme of the New Year.

Demographics

Between the 6th and 12th of December 2013 5,418 members of the @nifty internet service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. No further demographic information was provided.

One reason for translating this is that I’ve just finished sending off my New Years cards (the Japanese equivalent of Christmas cards), a total of 16, I think it was, and my wife is sending another 45.
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With Washoku, Japanese traditional home cooking, being awarded UNESCO status as an intangible cultural heritage, this recent survey from Kikkoman, a soy sauce maker, into awareness of Washoku provides some useful background data.

Demographics

Over the 27th and 28th of November 2013 830 housewives between the ages of 20 and 69 completed a private internet-based questionnaire. There is no information on how the sample was gathered, but the results were weighted according to the actual demographics of Japan.

As a coincidence, I had this Washoku meal tonight while out:

I’m not sure if the tofu-burger in the middle counts, but the surrounding dishes are certainly Washoku; anti-clockwise from the 5 grain rice we have pickles (yuk, passed them to my wife), seaweed (wakame) and fried tofu miso soup, purple sweet potato salad, konnyaku (double yuk!), hiyakko cold tofu, salad, and gobo (burdock root). Very nice it was too – my review should appear here soon.
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Mobile Marketing Data Laboratories recently conducted a survey into a minor social problem that has grown along with smartphone usage, that of using one’s smartphone while walking.

Demographics

Between the 13th and 15th of November 2013 558 members of the MMD Labo monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. All the people were smartphone users, and the demographics say that the sample was aged between 20 and 59 years old, but looking at Q1 I can see that 18 and 19 year olds, and those 60 or older were also questioned. No further demographic information was provided.

Talking of walking with smartphones, Japan Times recently stretched the definition of “news” rather too far with the author of this piece suggesting that negative press about walking with smartphones was a plot by Japan Inc. to spoil the iPhone 5s and 5c launch.

I don’t believe in coincidences. From Sept. 20, NTT Docomo, Softbank and au all began selling Apple’s newest-model iPhones, and I suspect the big difference is that foreign brands are threatening to expand their dominance of the market. So behind this wave of complaints is wounded national pride and concerns that Japanese firms are being nudged out of their own (very lucrative) market.

What a load of nonsense, but sadly reflective of the current editorial bent of newspaper, and also not the worst nonsense they have printed under a “news” headline.
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goo Research recently performed a survey, reported on by japan.internet.com, into keeping track of the family budget, a job in Japan that usually falls upon the wife.

Demographics

etween the 25th and 28th of September 2013 1,090 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.8% of the sample were male, 13.5% in their teens, 15.4% in their twenties, 21.6% in their thirties, 17.3% in their forties, 14.7% in their fifties, and 17.5% aged sixty or older.
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japan.internet.com reported on a subject that I know more about than I can tell you, that of smartphone-ready home appliances, in a survey conducted by goo Research.

Demographics

Between the 20th and 25th of September 2013 1,082 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private intenet-based questionnaire. 53.7% of the sample were male, 13.7% in their teens, 15.8% in their twenties, 21.7% in their thirties, 17.1% in their forties, 14.6% in their fifties, and 17.1% aged sixty or older.

Here’s a demo from last year’s CEATEC (Japan’s biggest consumer electronics show) where Sharp showed off their take on a Roomba.

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I recently found a survey from a new-to-this-blog company, Computer Planning Research Co., Ltd, looking at fortune telling.

Demographics

Over the 30th and 31st of August 2013 500 members of the Computer Planning Research Co., Ltd monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was exactly 50:50 male and female, and in each age group from twenties to sixties there was 50 male and 50 female respondents. Furthermore all resided within the Kanto area, namely Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma.

I find it quite disappointing that Q2 (see graph) did not have an answer “Both are equally nonsense!”

Given that there are only four blood types but 12 star signs, wouldn’t chance suggest that blood type should be thrice as accurate? Would anyone like to posit an argument as to why we see the results we do?
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Life Media’s Research Bank recently conducted a survey into the free chat app LINE. The report linked to on japan.internet.com is just some highlights, but the full report is available on Life Media’s site.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 26th of August 2013 2,000 members of the Research Bank monitor group who were smartphone owners completed a private internet (most likely via smartphone) questionnaire. The sample was exactly 50:0 male and female, and 20:20:20:20:20 for the age groups of teens, twenties, thirties, forties and fifty-pluses.

I avoid LINE because I worry about the fact that it slurps your address book up to their servers, and anyway I prefer Google Hangouts, not that I use that much anyway.
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Ginza HS Clinic recently released a bit of curious survey that tried to establish a link between going bald and SNS. Some of you might remember a similarly dodgy survey from them (and headline from me!) from a couple of months back.

Demographics

During the month of April 2013 400 male members of the Rakutan Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample consisted of 200 men who self-identified as going bald and 200 who had a full head of hair. Furthermore, 20.0% of each group were in their twenties, 20.0% in their thirties, 20.0% in their forties, 20.0% in their fifties, and 20.0% in their sixties.

Talking of slapheads, not surprisingly there is a Facebook group for photos of hot bald men. There is also this bald women group too; Google tells me the Arabic means “Shaved head women Salaat”. Coincidentally, the Japanese word “Salatto” means “sleek, smooth”, just like after a shaved head…
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No, that headline is not grammatically wrong, it’s just that in Japanese, the term for bringing one’s own thermos, mug to work (and also the name of this survey by Do House) is My Bottle or My Cup.

Demographics

At some recent point in time 641 members of the Do House monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.9% of the sample were male, 40.6% were in their twenties or thirties, and 59.4% were in their forties or fifties. All lived in the vicinities of Tokyo, and all were in employment, including part time and casual work.

I have both my own My Bottle and my own My Cup; I fill the thermos with tea from a tea bag, and slowly top up my My Cup from my My Bottle as time goes by. It feels like about a quarter of the people in myoffice bring their My Bottle, but I’ve never asked them what is inside, but for some reason I imagine it must be miso soup, although that doesn’t feature as a distinct option in Q3.

For some reason people drinking out of their thermos irritates me – the unscrewing and clinking as they put the cap back on is not in itself a noise that gets on my nerves, but much like fan usage it just grates for some no particular reason.
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