世論 What Japan Thinks

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

DIMSDRIVE Research recently performed a survey to find out what people thought about kimonos. Over one week at the end of January, they got 7,607 people, 60.4% female, from their internet monitor group to reply to the questionnaire. 1.6% of the respondents were in their teens, 19.6% in their twenties, 36.6% in their thirties, 26.2% in their forties, 11.9% in their fifties, and 4.1% sixty and over.

This second half sees some more interesting statistics. Most people don’t buy their own kimono, but I would like to know why. Is it a coming of age present? A wedding present? Do they get them new or as hand-me-downs?

It is also interesting how the kimono’s image is foremostly positive, with the top two answers praising it, but then followed by four very negative images.
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[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

DIMSDRIVE Research recently performed a survey to find out what people thought about kimonos. Over one week at the end of January, they got 7,607 people, 60.4% female, from their internet monitor group to reply to the questionnaire. 1.6% of the respondents were in their teens, 19.6% in their twenties, 36.6% in their thirties, 26.2% in their forties, 11.9% in their fifties, and 4.1% sixty and over.

Note that I believe that the 浴衣 yukata and 甚平 jinbei, the cheap summer wear that resembles just a fancy dressing gown more than a formal item of clothing, is excluded from this survey; they are focusing on the posh ceremonial item here. I base this supposition on “fireworks display” or “summer festival” not being listed as answers to the question on the place that people last wore one, as at these two places one regularly sees many young people kitted out in cheap and colourful loose cotton garments.

Personally, I’ve never worn a kimono nor have any great urge to wear one, although I should compare the results of this survey with my views on kilts. I own a kilt, which I’ve worn to three weddings here in Japan, and it always goes down well with the natives. In deference to Japan, and betraying my heritage, I do wear Hello Kitty boxers underneath…

This survey will be split into two parts, published today and tomorrow.
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During one week towards the end of January infoPLANT carried out a survey, via their usual means of an option in the DoCoMo iMode menuing system, of 7,977 people from all over the country, 63.5% female, to find out their opinions regarding televisions.

Looking at the results, it seems that most people go to shops to get televisions sold to them; the in-store information is the most important reference for most people, and display quality and price are what makes the deal, both these factors being ones that the salespeople are more than able to convey face-to-face.
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infoPLANT carried out a survey over a week at the end of January to find out what people thought regarding pre-cooked frozen foodstuffs. From the explanations within, this covers a wide spectrum covering both complete meals and individual side dishes. I do not believe that chilled foods are covered by this survey.

A self-selecting sample of 8,578 people, 66.4% female, completed a survey presented through the DoCoMo iMode menuing system. 3% were in their teens, 37% in their twenties, 43% in their thirties, 16% in their forties, and just 2% fifty or older.

This is probably about the most dull survey I have ever translated, so I apologise for that!

Notice that over four in five chose taste as the most important factor, whilst only a quarter stated taste as a reason for using them, suggesting that Japanese consumers are not particularly impressed by the taste of their frozen foods.

In Q2 it was seen that the over fifty group tended more to buy in bulk, and that is reflected in this question where the same demographic noted the highest importance in the best before date. Over fifty year old women also recorded the highest percentage in the safety, maker or brand image, and preparation method questions.
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In my quest to bring you the rather more obscure and slighly weird surveys of Japanese public opinion, here comes an odd report from DIMSDRIVE Research, who asked 4,551 Japanese of all ages what their favourite meat on a yakiniku (grilled meat) menu was. 44.7% of those who replied to their internet-based questionnaire were male. This survey was carried out last July.

As a vegetarian myself, I have to go for the “None of the above” option. I also must resist saying anything about the fact that so many young Japanese women seem to love nothing more than a bit of tongue. Oh, and if you too want to get away from meat and get some decent tofu and other soy-based foodstuffs, and live in the Kansai area, I hearily recommend “Mame no Hatake” and “Seed’s Kitchen” as semi-organic, semi-veggie eateries. The “Mame no Hatake” buffet, in particular, is quite amazing value, 1,900 yen for a high-quality all-you-can-eat buffet.
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NEPRO JAPAN recently published an interesting survey on how mobile phones have changed users’ lives. They got replies from 4,610 people who answered a questionnaire available for one day at the start of February through iMode, vodafone live! and EZweb mobile phone service menus. The sample consisted of 40% male, 4% in their teens, 38% in their twenties, 41% in their thirties, and 17% aged forty and over.

Some of the figures are quite amazing, such as one in four spending over three hours a day on their phone. However, when you consider that the average commute for people is over 90 minutes per day (must find exact figures – I’ve just seen an in-train poster stating that statistic) and many people will be busy mailing or gaming (when they aren’t sleeping), the hours soon add up.

Question 3, on whether people use a fixed or a mobile line at home may very well be biased by people who still live at home but do not pay the fixed line phone bill.

Note also that this survey is self-selecting through a mobile phone menu, so people who only spend a couple of minutes per day on the phone are most unlikely to ever have seen this questionnaire!
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japan.internet.com carried out a survey amongst 1,094 members of the goo monitor group (the split by sex is not recorded, but the text implies that it was all female) to find out how people use internet hotel reservation services. In the surveyed group, 2.1% were teenagers, 25.2% were in their twenties, 39.5% were in their thirties, 24.3% were in their forties, and 8.9% were in their fifties.

According to an as-yet untranslated by me survey last September on how women obtain word-of-mouth (or should that really be word-of-fingertips?) information from the internet, their top genres for picking up the buzz off the internet were make-up, dining, travel and clothes sites in that order, although four in five never added their own two yen to these sites, and just two percent regularly chimed in.
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MyVoice carried out a survey of its community at the start of this month to see what they thought about self-service (counter service only) coffee shops. 16,311 people, 46% male, completed their internet questionnaire. 3% were teenagers, 24% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 24% in their forties, and 12% fifty years old or over.

Japan is apparently the only country in the world (sorry, I can’t find a definite statement of the statistics) where the Coca-Cola Company make more money (or sell more by volume, or something) with a drink other than their signature fizzy brown bevarage, namely their line of Georgia canned coffee, which are, on the whole, either over-sugary, over-milky (a friend got kidney stones from drinking six or eight cans a day and hardly any other liquids, bar beer) or over-bitter for my taste.

Also note that in Japan there is little tradition of carrying out a cup of coffee from a shop. Even around Starbucks, almost no-one will drink their coffee anywhere bar the shop; I personally can only recall one time seeing a Japanese person carrying a coffee cup onto a train, for instance.

Finally, most coffee shops are still smoking. Starbucks is non-smoking throughout (except for seating outside, if available), but other chains often have perhaps only have a quarter or less reserved for non-smokers, and little effective segregation. However, note the last question, about why people like their particular favourite chain – only 9.5% choose smoking segregation (all non-smoking was not an option) as a plus, at most just a fifth of the Starbucks fans, versus 9% who choose that smoking is allowed, which is again just about a fifth of those with a favourite other than Starbucks.

I seem to have written far too much about Starbucks already! I’m much more a tea and table service man myself.
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Recently MyVoice performed a timely survey on aspects of hay fever, interviewing 16,259 people, 54% female, by means of a survey of their internet monitor group. In the sample there were 3% teenagers, 23% in their twenties, 38% in their thirties, 24% in their forties, and 12% in their fifties.

The largest cause of hay fever in Japan is cedar trees, but luckily I am mostly resistant to that, although back in the UK I used to have pretty serious problems with rapeseed (canola) pollen.

In question six there appears 甜茶, tencha, which is apparently some kind of rose-based Chinese herbal tea that I had never heard of, yet over one in five Japanese sufferers drink to alleviate their symptoms.

Another quite popular curative, 凍頂烏龍茶, touchou oolong tea (which has a different Chinese pronounciation, but I can’t find a reference to it) is served hot at one of my favourite restaurants, and it really is a very relaxing digestive after a big meal, but I know nothing about any presumed rhinitis-related benefits!

Q1: Do you suffer from hay fever? (Sample size=16,259)

Yes, serious hay fever	12.0%
Yes, mild hay fever	26.5%
Used to have it but not now	8.5%
Never had hay fever	43.0%
Don’t know what hay fever is	10.1%

Q2: When did you first become aware of having hay fever? (Sample size=either 6,259 or 7,641 approximately, hay fever sufferers)

This year	0.4%
Last year	8.2%
Two or three years ago	17.5%
Four or five years ago	17.2%
Six to ten years ago	17.0%
Over ten years ago	32.1%
Can’t remember	7.0%
No answer	0.7%

Note that since this survey took place at the start of February, before the pollen season properly starts, the number of new sufferers for this year would naturally be very low. However, the 8.2% breaking out last year is a bit of a worrying figure.

Q3: Where or what do you consult for information regarding hay fever? (Sample size=either 6,259 or 7,641 approximately, hay fever sufferers, multiple answer)

Television programs	78.2%
Internet	42.9%
Newspaper column	34.5%
Doctor or pharmacy	33.7%
Word-of-mouth from friends	30.9%
Magazine column	16.4%
Radio program	5.2%
Specialist books	3.1%
Other	2.9%
No answer	1.1%

Q4: What hay fever symptoms are you afflicted by? (Sample size=either 6,259 or 7,641 approximately, hay fever sufferers, multiple answer)

Runny nose	83.3%
Itchy eyes	80.4%
Sneezing	66.9%
Stuffed nose	54.2%
Wooly head	34.3%
Bloodshot eyes	30.1%
Sore throat	19.4%
Sore eyes	16.6%
Headache	14.8%
Itchy all over	10.7%
Coughing	10.4%
Other	2.9%
No answer	1.4%

Q5: What measures do you take to avoid or reduce hay fever symptoms? (Sample size=either 6,259 or 7,641 approximately, hay fever sufferers, multiple answer)

Over-the-counter eyewash, eyedrops	42.0%
Mask	39.7%
Prescription medicine	36.4%
Sweets or gum	31.5%
Over-the-counter internal medicines	28.9%
Over-the-counter nasal sprays or drops	24.8%
Anti-hay fever food and drink	20.5%
Air filter	19.8%
Over-the-counter gargle solution	10.9%
Glasses or goggles	8.5%
Lotion-impregnated tissues	7.7%
Aromatherapy	3.2%
Clothes drier	3.0%
Other over-the-counter medicine	1.9%
Laser treatment	0.7%
Other	3.1%
Don’t use anything in particular	9.8%
No answer	1.3%

Q6: What food or drink do you take to avoid or reduce hay fever symptoms? (Sample size=either 6,259 or 7,641 approximately, hay fever sufferers, multiple answer)

Yogurt or other lactic acid drinks	27.3%
Tencha	22.7%
Sweets or gum	17.4%
Natto	10.3%
Herb tea	7.7%
Shiso leaves, seeds or juice	7.7%
Green vegetables	5.5%
凍頂烏龍茶 Touchou oolong tea	5.1%
Other teas not specifically mentioned	4.8%
Anti-hay fever cool drinks	4.7%
Moromi or apple vinegar, etc	4.2%
Aojiru	3.0%
Guava tea	3.0%
Blue fish	2.4%
Benifuuki tea	1.0%
Tomato skins	1.0%
Other	2.5%
Nothing in particular	41.2%
No answer	2.1%

I got the following message through another mailing list, so I’ll pass this on to anyone interested out there.

There is a questionnaire that has been authored by Katrin Kalb, a German Master Thesis student of Sophia University. The results of the thesis will be made available to the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) to improve travel and tourism in Japan.

This is YOUR chance to make a difference for future travellers (including you) Make your observations and concerns heard. For a meaningful statistical evaluation, the student needs at least 300 responses, so please help by filling it out (will take 10 minutes) and forward it to people who you think can answer the questions.

Unfortunately the group of people being questioned is somewhat limited: western foreigners living for duration of at least 7 months in Japan (where at least three months should have been passed when completing the
questionnaire). You, or your partner should have a salaried (that is stable) income.

http://www.befrager.de/befragung.aspx?projekt=306

The URL is German, but the questionnaire is in English.

Note that there is also a German version of the questionnaire available. There does seem to be a small prize draw if you leave your email address after completing the survey.