世論 What Japan Thinks

MyVoice recently published the results of its 6th annual mobile phone service provider image survey. Note that I have previously translated the 5th annual survey.

Demographics

Between the 1st and 5th of February they interviewed 13,352 people from their onlione monitor community: 54% of the respondents were female, 2% in their teens, 19% in their twenties, 41% in their thirties, 25% in their forties, and 13% in their fifties.

The results here are pretty much in line with what even just the casual observer would conclude about the Japanese mobile phone market, although I would have thought that perhaps as Hollywood stars Brad and Cameron would have had a positive impact on SoftBank’s image, but their television commercials promote talking on the phone, ignoring the fact that most people email, and perhaps news of the rumoured three million dollars salary Cameron Diaz received for one six-hour shoot has soured the general public towards Masayoshi Son’s company.
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japan.internet.com recently reported on a survey conducted by JR Tokai Express Research on the subject of mobile phones and spam. Over three days at the start of February 330 peope from their monitor group successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was 51.8% feamle, with 26.7% in their twenties, 40.6% in their thirties, 25.2% in their forties, 5.5% in their fifties, and 2.1% in their sixties.

I’ve been spam-free on my phone, perhaps because I only sign up with reputable firms. However, my wife has used YNot electronic greeting cards just recently, and has been plagued with a flood of spam from Rakuten partners. As I mentioned in another post when talking about Rakuten, they really are bad for sending spam and making it painful to unsubscribe. However, I think this time I have managed to unsubscribe from everything…
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In January infoPLANT published the results of research conducted over three days in the middle of December into the topic of mobile phone electronic wallets (Osaifu keitai). They interviewed 1,500 mobile phone users from their monitor panel; the split was 50:50 male and female, and 750 people aged from 15 to 29, and 750 aged from 30 to 59. In addition, 500 people were DoCoMo users, 500 au, and 500 SoftBank. The full report looks at many aspects of mobile phone usage, but this article just covers the highlights presented in their summary.

I’ve never owned a phone with the required electronic wallet IC chip inside, and just last week when my wife upgraded to a new phone with the required electronics, she only agreed to have the functionality enabled as we got an extra 1,000 yen discount for doing so!

I’ve never actually seen anyone use their mobile phone’s electronic wallet features – it might be interesting to ask how many people just use them once or twice, then give up and go back to another method.

It’s interesting to note in Q4 that over a third have no interest in any electronic wallet features.
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japan.internet.com recently reported on a survey conducted at the start of the month by Cross Marketing Inc regarding children and mobile phones. 300 members of their monitor panel who had children successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was split 50:50 male and female, and the ages of their children (some of the respondents had more than one) were 11.0% under three years old, 41.7% older than three but not yet entered elementary school, 30.0% in the first two years of elementary school (aged six or seven), 19.7% in the third or fourth year of elementary school, 28.0% in the fifth and sixth year of elementary school, 31.0% in middle school, and 20.7% in high school or older.

This is one subject I can’t really have an opinion on until I have children of my own! I do feel, though, that primary school age is still too young, but on the other hand, because not only adults but children too put in lots of unnecessary overtime in school-related (or cram school-related) activities, and since even in the height of summer it is dark by shortly after 7pm, the need to be reassured by having an easy method of contacting one’s children is strong. Therefore, I am quite surprised that just one in five give their children mobiles.
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With my recent post on mobile phone upgrades being picked up by Mobile Opportunity, I thought it would be interesting to look at a similar topic reported by japan.internet.com, this time a look by Cross Marketing Inc at the Spring 2007 mobile phone models. On the 31st of January and 1st of February 300 people from their internet monitor group successfully completed a private internet questionnaire. As usual for Cross Marketing, sex and age groups were evenly divided; 50:50 male and female, and 20.0% in each of the age groups from teenage to those in their fifties.
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A couple of weeks ago japan.internet.com published the results of goo Research’s 29th monthly survey into mobile phone upgrade needs. Over three days at the start of January exactly 1,000 members of their monitor panel (presumably all mobile phone owners) successfully completed a private internet-based survey. 53.0% of the sample was female, 2.1% in their teens, 19.7% in their twenties, 39.0% in their thirties, 25.1% in their forties, and 14.1% aged fifty or older.

Just yesterday, my wife upgraded her phone – what sold the Panasonic P703i to her even more than the pink colouring (actually, she bought the wavey blue one) was the inclusion of Lisa and Gaspard icon sets.
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NEPRO JAPAN recently published the results of a survey into economising on one’s mobile phone bill. On one day in mid-December of last year they questioned 3,425 people across the three main Japanese carriers, DoCoMo’s iMode, Softbank’s Yahoo! Keitai and au and TU-KA’s EZweb, by means of a public poll available through the main menus of all three carriers’ systems. 44% of the sample were male; 3% were teenagers, 35% in their twenties, 44% in their thirties, and 18% aged forty and over.

Similar questions were asked of a similar group around the same time last year, so one can perhaps observe a trend over the past year.

I’ve actually now worked out how to read my mobile phone bill, I hope, and with all my discounts and whatever in place, it costs me around ¥4,000 per month for just a little talk time, some surfing, and free email exchange with my wife.
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[part 1] [part 2]

With the Christmas present season upon us and New Year sales soon to come, DIMSDRIVE Research took a timely look at ownership of portable games machine. Over a week in the middle of November 7,508 people from their monitor group successfully completed an internet-based questionnaire. 44.8% of the sample was male, 64.9% married, and 51.7% had children. By age, 1.1% were in their teens, 16.6% in their twenties, 37.1% in their thirties, 27.7% in their forties, 12.7% in their forties, and 4.8% aged sixty or older.

Talking of wireless, when I visited the Pokemon Centre in central Osaka recently there was an awful lot of people sitting around outside playing on their Nintendo DSes, presumably with whoever was around.

Note that the survey was conducted before the release of either the PS3 or the Wii, so for the last question, no-one already owns either of the machines.
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[part 1] [part 2]

With the Christmas present season upon us and New Year sales soon to come, DIMSDRIVE Research took a timely look at ownership of portable games machine. Over a week in the middle of November 7,508 people from their monitor group successfully completed an internet-based questionnaire. 44.8% of the sample was male, 64.9% married, and 51.7% had children. By age, 1.1% were in their teens, 16.6% in their twenties, 37.1% in their thirties, 27.7% in their forties, 12.7% in their forties, and 4.8% aged sixty or older.

The fad for brain training amongst the elderly is still apparent in this survey, although one must remember that since this poll is conducted amongst people who are internet users, and since internet use is presumably lower amongst the elderly, it would be foolish to draw too many conclusions about the whole over-fifty age group from the results presented here.

Looking at Q4A, there is perhaps the suggestion that people are using the PSP as not just a games machine, but also as a music or video player when they are out and about.
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japan.internet.com recently reported on a survey conducted by Cross Marketing Inc in the middle of November into the use of web sites from mobile phones. 300 mobile phone owners, 50.0% male and 50.0% female, with 20.0% in their teens, and 20.0% in their twenties, thirties, forties and fifties completed the private internet-based survey.
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