世論 What Japan Thinks

Sadly the most important question, “Do you think Feng Shui is a load of cobblers?” was not asked, although given the love of blood typing, this recent survey from iShare into Feng Shui would probably have shown a disappointingly high percentage of believers.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 10th of January 2009 412 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private online questionnaire. 55.1% of the sample were male, 13.3% in their twenties, 46.8% in their thirties, 32.3% in their forties, and 7.5% either in their teens or aged fifty or older.

In Japanese Feng Shui is written using the same wind and water characters as for Chinese, but the pronounciation is slightly different, Fuu Sui. The biggest Feng Shui con artist practitioner in Japan is Doctor Copa, whose advise mostly seems to consist of sticking ugly single-colour plastic objects in strategic locations.
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Like I did, you’re probably wondering what on earth a Range Up product is. It is another made-up Japanese-style English (和製英語, wasei eigo) that means microwave-ready food that can be stored at room temperature. Range is from the Japanese for microwave oven, denshi range, and Up is probably from heat up. So, with the definitions out the way, let up proceed to this look by MyVoice at said Range Up products.

Demographics

Over the first five days of January 2009 13,771 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 13% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 31% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

I’ve not eaten these kinds of dishes myself, in fact I can’t remember seeing them ever, although I did have a friend who swore by the individual portions of rice, as they were just right for single people who couldn’t be bothered with the whole bother of a rice cooker. In fact, one will not that rice-based dishes feature very prominantly in Q2.
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With the economic gloom building, here is a timely look with MyVoice at economising in daily life.

Demographics

Over the first five days of January 2009 13,932 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed an online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% were in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

I was saving money on most things last year, and this year will see further savings given the possibility of all overtime being stopped and having had the more immediate shock of getting a 20,000 yen gas bill for last month.

Of course, rather than economising I want more income (AdSense has died a death!), and to that end I have three new web site ideas in the pipeline and one renewal of an older property, but more of that in other posts!

Finally, before I forget, be sure to check out Nihon Hacks for how to save money in Japan.
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Although I feel Starbucks’ drinks resemble coffee in the same way that happoshu resembles beer (but without the low price tag), plenty of people love them, as this recent survey from iShare into star ratings for coffee chains shows.

Demographics

Between the 19th and 22nd of December 2008 441 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.5% of the sample were male, 14.1% in their twenties, 44.4% in their thirties, 31.1% in their forties, and 10.4% in their teens or aged fifty or older.

Having said that I dislike Starbucks, I saw a poster outside one of their shops to say they now have seasonal tea lattes which did look nice, but not nice enough to tempt me inside.

My favourite chain is Kobe-based (although I did find one near Tokyo Tower once) and called UCC (Ueshima Coffee Company), with their green tea latte being a particularly fine drink.
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This rather fun survey from goo Research, reported on by japan.internet.com, looked at mobile phones, with the focus of the article being phones and bedtime.

Demographics

Over the 18th and 19th of December 2008 1,082 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.8% of the sample were male, 16.2% in their teens, 18.3% in their twenties, 21.2% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 16.0% in their fifties, and 12.1% aged sixty or older.

Remember that a previous survey has shown that over two in five use their mobiles as alarm clocks, so that will affect where people put their mobile phones.

My phone sits on a desk in another room, but my wife’s on a desk out of reach in the bedroom as she does use it as an alarm clock.
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[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

This extremely detailed survey from goo Research in conjunction with the NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting, Inc looked at old people and computer and internet usage, and comparing these habits with that of younger people.

Demographics

Between the 12th and 16th of September 2008 1,064 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 67.5% of the sample were male, 0.9% in their teens, 7.0% in their twenties, 17.4% in their thirties, 12.5% in their forties, 6.0% in their fifties, and 56.1% aged sixty or older. Note that everyone in the sample had access to a computer and has signed up to goo Research as a monitor, so please be aware of that before extrapolating the behaviour observed here to the general population of Japan.

In Q13, I hope the tiny percentage applying security patches excludes those getting pushed Windows updates automatically, and similarly I hope there are a lot of people unaware that their Windows firewall is on. I also wonder what the overlap between those with local anti-virus and those with their service provider’s virus scanning is. Most providers offer the scanning only as a premium service, even though solutions like AVG anti-virus will do everything for free.

In Q16 it is entertaining to see that the only things old folk do on line more than their juniors is share trading, dating, and Second Life!
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[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

This extremely detailed survey from goo Research in conjunction with the NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting, Inc looked at old people and computer and internet usage, and comparing these habits with that of younger people.

Demographics

Between the 12th and 16th of September 2008 1,064 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 67.5% of the sample were male, 0.9% in their teens, 7.0% in their twenties, 17.4% in their thirties, 12.5% in their forties, 6.0% in their fifties, and 56.1% aged sixty or older. Note that everyone in the sample had access to a computer and has signed up to goo Research as a monitor, so please be aware of that before extrapolating the behaviour observed here to the general population of Japan.

In Q10 I an very surprised to see the majority of people use a spreadsheet on their home computer, and I wish I knew what sorts of uses they put it to. However, having observed at work how we get everything from databases to memos (yes, our middle-manager meeting minutes come delivered every week as a huge text box drawn in the middle of an otherwise blank spreadsheet) get delivered in Excel I cannot begin to guess what they are doing. The other surprising thing about the figure is that that many have Office installed; I’ve not seen any surveys that suggest anything other than a Microsoft monopoly at work, so why not at home too? Open Office or other free alternatives do not have the penetration in Japan.
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[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

This extremely detailed survey from goo Research in conjunction with the NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting, Inc looked at old people and computer and internet usage, and comparing these habits with that of younger people.

Demographics

Between the 12th and 16th of September 2008 1,064 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 67.5% of the sample were male, 0.9% in their teens, 7.0% in their twenties, 17.4% in their thirties, 12.5% in their forties, 6.0% in their fifties, and 56.1% aged sixty or older. Note that everyone in the sample had access to a computer and has signed up to goo Research as a monitor, so please be aware of that before extrapolating the behaviour observed here to the general population of Japan.

The literacy levels here are high, but as cautioned above one is dealing with a more computer-aware population.

Q2 is curious in that people want most to learn how to install new hardware. It would be interesting to find out if it’s for the curiousity value of opening the box and poking around, in order to save expensive upgrade fees from a third party, or to just connect a new printer or camera without requiring an on-site visit.

Q4, Q5 and Q6 show a very distinct and interesting split between the sexes.
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Although Joe Jones at MutantFrog is arguing that Japan doesn’t need work-life balance, I think it is badly needed, so this ranking survey from goo Ranking looking at what systems people think companies should introduce to realise work-life balance, for both men and women, was rather informative for me.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 23rd of November 2008 1,083 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a privacte internet-based questionnaire. 50.4% of the sample were female, 9.0% in their teens, 15.7% in their twenties, 29.1% in their thirties, 25.5% in their forties, 11.3% in their fifties, and 9.4% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

Just in case the terminology is a bit unclear, nursing refers to looking after an aged or infirm relative, and “returning to the workforce systems” is for mothers looking for a new job, as currently they find it very difficult to get a professional post after a few years out of the market. On the other hand, “support for returning to the same job” is to ease transition back into one’s old workplace after perhaps just a year or two off.

What’s needed in my opinion is training in time management to teach everyone how to do their job in the nine-to-five, and all the associated support systems that go along with that to ensure it is enforced at all levels in the workplace.
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The winter months are the driest months in Japan, causing many people problems with dry skin and brings a rise in the sales in humidifiers. To see what the average Japanese suffers from and how they cope, MyVoice looked at prevention of dry skin problems.

Demographics

Over the first five days of December 2008 15,073 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older. Sadly, the answers were not broken down by sex.

I get really bad dry skin in Japan, although to what extent it is from the dry air, from aging, or just from taking more care now I’m married, I couldn’t say. My hands suffer the most, and the creams I use are just my wife’s left-overs!

I also have psoriasis on a couple of spots on my legs, but that doesn’t really count as dry skin. Interesting statistics about it is that it is the most common dematological complaint in most Western countries, but Japanese are 100 times less likely to suffer from it that us whities, although my excellent doctor says the reason is not known; it’s some combination of genetics, lack of sunlight, and being an island race that increases risk factors.

Although this survey does not look at the topic specifically, one of the most popular skin protection methods, from the effects of not just dryness, but also aging, in Japan is collagen drinks, collagen creams and collagen-rich foods. I always felt the effectiveness was overblown, so I was pleased to a story in the Japan Times saying it is indeed a waste of money! (Via Japan Probe).

Another rumour that seems to be doing the rounds is that young people should use cosmetics aimed at those in their fifties or so.
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