世論 What Japan Thinks

This detailed survey from DIMSDRIVE Research into new-type influenza or swine flu, found that surprisingly few people are always wearing masks as a preventative measure. Perhaps there is a degree of confirmation bias in our own personal experiences as mask wearers do stand out, so we remember the definite sightings from a busy day on the train but forget the times when there’s just a couple of masks in the carriage.

Demographics

Between the 14th and 29th of October 2009 13,263 members of the DIMSDRIVE monitor group completed a private online questionnaire. 54.1% of the sample were male, 0.8% in their teens, 8.9% in their twenties, 28.3% in their thirties, 32.0% in their forties, 19.0% in their fifties, and 11.0% aged sixty or older. Note that this survey was performed during a period when the number of reported cases was rapidly increasing.

Note that the Japanese term is 新型インフルエンザ, shingata infuruenza, new-type flu, but I’ll use swine flu in this translation as it’s easier to understand.

At work we have a bottle of disinfectant at the door that I always use just to show willing, but I don’t use it anywhere else.

I went today to the barber and all the staff were masked up, but no-one seemed to have a cough, but I suppose given the close-up work a barber does the mask is reassuring to the customer.
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mixi is Japan’s answer to MySpace or Facebook, owning a huge percentage of the Japanese SNS market. This recent survey from goo Ranking looked at what both women and men found great about the service.

Demographics

Between the 23rd and 26th of October 2009 1,162 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 62.9% of the sample were female, 10.5% in their teens, 20.7% in their twenties, 30.8% in their thirties, 21.9% in their forties, 9.0% in their fifties, and 7.0% aged sixty or older.

I’m not a member of mixi, and not really active in any other social media, so I cannot talk about the charms myself.
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And small pricks were hated by three in four Japanese women, according to this survey from iShare on injections, a perhaps disappointingly entitled topic, but predictably disappointing given my prediliction for such spicy headlines.

Demographics

Between the 6th and 11th of November 2009 538 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.2% of the sample were male, 32.9% in their twenties, 29.7% in their thirties, and 37.4% in their forties.

I hate injections, and look away, pull a face and clench my fist whenever I need to give a blood sample or whatever. It’s not the pain (although that’s not much fun), just the idea of the whole thing. Now I think about it, I don’t have a problem getting an injection at the dentist, probably because all the rest of the implements scare me so a wee bit of anesthesia can only help.
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A recent survey from iShare into going to the cinema by oneself is a bit difficult for me to interpret, especially as I feel there should have been a question on why people go to the cinema by themselves rather than with others.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 10th of November 2009 531 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 59.3% of the sample were male, 34.7% in their twenties, 30.9% in their thirties, and 34.5% in their forties.

Rather appropriately, I’m translating this survey as I’m riding on a train to meet my wife who went to see two movies alone today. Although a lot of foreigners complain about the cinema being 1,800 yen a ticket, if you’re regularly paying that much you’re doing it wrong! Today, for instance, is the first of the month, so all tickets are 1,000 yen each, plus by using the ticket stub in a restaurant in the shopping mall complex we can get a free cake each, plus we have cinema mileage cards so we get both bonus points that can be exchanged for popcorn and finally a see-six-get-one-free system.

Looking at the winter films below, and tying in with yesterday’s survey, a few of them seem to be live-action versions of manga or anime.
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The following survey from Macromill was very superficially summarised in the press, focusing on just a single question when a lot more interesting data was available regarding mobile phone use of mothers bringing up children.

Demographics

Over the 5th and 6th of November 2009 500 married mothers from the Macromill monitor group completed a private mobile phone-based questionnaire. All the sample was female, of course, and 25.0% were between 20 and 24, 25.0% between 25 and 29, 25.0% between 30 and 34, and 25.0% between 35 and 39 years old.

Some of the figures are very surprising to me (mainly because I’m not a young mother) such as just over half the youngest age group writing a Mommy blog and over a quarter shopping or bidding in auctions at least once a week, although I did expect the number of emails exchanged to be higher!
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Here’s yet another novel subject for a survey from MyVoice, where they look at a subject at which I excel, but my wife just cannot do, namely ironing.

Demographics

Between the 27th and 30th of October 2009 518 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.8% of the sample were male, 30.3% in their twenties, 34.0% in their thirties, and 35.7% in their forties.

One thing that did strike me when I first came to Japan was the lack of ironing of clothes, not just for men but women also, wearing fashionable clothing but covered in wrinkles. I like ironing myself, but I only bother with trousers and shirts. My mother goes as far as ironing socks, which I think is just a bit too keen! (Sorry Mum!)
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Having done alcohol consumption earlier in the week, today I take a look at a survey from DIMSDRIVE Research into temperature of drinking water, etc, with a faddy diet as a bonus!

Demographics

Between the 6th and 8th of November 2009 9,947 members of the DIMSDRIVE monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.9% of the sample were male, 0.6% in their teens, 8.4% in their twenties, 27.6% in their thirties, 32.7% in their forties, 19.0% in their fifties, and 11.7% aged sixty or older.

The fad diet is the Sayu diet, 白湯 in kanji, the drinking of water at between 40°C and 50°C. Looking at the answers below, it appears it should raise one’s metabolism and burn more fat for the same food intake. Who knows if it works or not, although I would guess that the answer would be no, it doesn’t!
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Here’s another interesting look at drinking alcohol with MyVoice.

Demographics

Over the first five days of October 2009 13,102 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 14% in their twenties, 32% in their thirties, 32% in their forties, and 22% aged fifty or older.

I just read today about Japan and the social cost of alcohol, which is interesting reading, and I agree on the whole with the facts and the conclusion, although the estimate of the number of alcoholics seems on the low side, or else the diagnosis of an alcoholic in Japan is somewhat different to the west. The most interesting figure, though, is the social cost of alcohol. This article say 6.6 trillion yen, whereas a similar figure from a BBC article suggests £6.4 billion in terms of productivity losses. Working at 150 yen to the pound and populations of 130 million versus 65 million, that makes the cost to Japan industry almost 3.5 times greater!
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My wife is one of these frigid women, as her feet and hands are often painfully cold even on warm days, a sympton shared with many others of both sexes according to this survey from iShare into taking measures to address cold extermities.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 26th of October 2009 544 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were male, 35.8% in their twenties, 32.4% in their thirties, and 31.8% in their forties.

I’ve read a bit of research that suggested that stiff shoulders is a cultural thing; under conditions where many westerners report headaches, Japanese report stiff shoulders; however, ethinically Japanese people brought up in the west tend to report headaches rather than stiff shoulders. Therefore, I wonder if cold hands and feet are a similar issue, as poor circulation or narrowed blood vessels is one cause of both stiff shoulders and cold extremities.
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People sleeping on the train, or feigning sleep so they don’t need to give up their seat, is a staple feature of the Japanese rail system, and something that I do most mornings too. The worry about sleeping past your stop was the subject tackled by this recent survey from iShare.

Demographics

Between the 12th and 15th of October 2009 568 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 58.1% of the sample were male, 34.7% in their twenties, 31.2% in their thirties, and 34.2% in their forties.

Despite needing three trains to get to and from work every day, I’ve never actually slept past my stop, although more than once or twice I’ve woken up after the train has stopped and had to fight my way through the boarding hoards to get off. My first train in the morning is all the way to the end of the line, so I have once been woken by a fellow passenger as I was still dead to the world when we got to the terminal.
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