世論 What Japan Thinks

Macromill Research Inc released an up-to-the-minute survey into spring storms, as Japan has been suffering from them this weekend.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 9th of April 2013 1,000 members of the Macromill monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was exactly 50:50 male and female, and 20.0% in each age band from the twenties to the sixty years old or more group.

For me the storm was a bit of an anti-climax; we had a few hours of horizonal rain, but nothing out of the ordinary compared to when I grew up and we used to have two or three days-work of Atlantic gales to handle. I always feel the same way with typhoons; they can be nasty when they pass straight overhead and you are in a mountainous area or flood plains which amplifies the effect of the rain, but preparations, tying everything in the garden down, always feel like a waste of time.
Read the rest of this entry »

With the hayfever season still in full swing in Japan – we’ve moved from cedar to hinoki cypress this week – japan.internet.com reported on a survey from goo Research into hayfever, looking particularly at where people find out about the pollen forecast.

Demographics

Between the 22nd and 24th of March 2013 1,079 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.9% of the sample were male, 16.2% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.5% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 15.7% in their fifties, and 12.0% aged sixty or older.

My hayfever is a little funny this year – I had a horrendous hayfever-like reaction to something at the end of December last year, but despite this year having elevated levels of pollen, all I had was a mildly blocked nose and gentle sneezing. Instead of having to beat the ENT doctor’s door down at the start of March as usual, this time I just went as I had a free afternoon at the end of March, and the doctor seemed surprised that my nose was showing few signs of irritation, so he did a blood test for allergen markers, but I still haven’t got round to picking up the results.

Here’s a link to an online pollen forecast for my prefecture. The pink/purple mark is for “exceptionally large amounts”.
Read the rest of this entry »

The start of the new financial and university year this month also brings us to the house moving season, so this look by goo Research, reported on by japan.internet.com, into property searching is rather timely.

Demographics

Over the 8th and 9th of March 2013 1,085 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.2% of the sample were male, 16.4% in their teens, 17.9% in their twenties, 21.8% in their thirties, 16.4% in their forties, 15.5% in their fifties, and 12.0% aged sixty or older.

The three times I searched for a flat in Japan, the first two times were with the aid of my employer filtering offerings from an estate agent, and the third time was via fliers that came through the door, not really the most high-tech method available!
Read the rest of this entry »

This recent short report from japan.internet.com on a survey by goo Research into IT device security, the second time they have conducted this survey, the first being in November 2012.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 12th of March 2012 1,033 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were male, 16.4% in their teens, 17.9% in their twenties, 21.7% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, and 27.9% aged fifty or older.

Here’s a scam virus advert on a tablet:

I seem to remember translating the previous survey, but I cannot find it on the site. Perhaps I got half-way through and decided it wasn’t interesting enough to be published?

Anyway, I’m curious why tablet security is increasing but smartphone staying static. One factor in the tablet rise is no doubt due to Android increasing market share, and curiously enough if all the extra 36 tablet owners in Q1SQ were non-iOS users, and all of them used security software, then the rise from 42.1% to 55.2% is explained, but I’m sure that’s just a numerical fluke.
Read the rest of this entry »

japan.internet.com recently reported on an interesting survey conducted by Nifty, comnico and Lifemedia into social media usage, focusing on young soon-to-graduate students.

Demographics

Between the 8th and 11th of March 2013 559 social media-using people who were due to graduate at the end of this academic year and were aged between 20 and 26 completed an internet survey, but it was not reported how the sample was gathered. 62.1% of the sample were female, and 37.9% male.

Coincidentally, my new group leader today introduced himself, including his Facebook page, and suggested that people interested should befriend him, so I shall do that and see what happens…
Read the rest of this entry »

goo Ranking recently took a look at the female body shapes that men like.

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of March 2013 1,083 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 56.7% of the sample were femle, 11.6% in their teens, 15.0% in their twenties, 24.9% in their thirties, 24.7% in their forties, 12.7% in their fifties, and 11.1% 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. This question was for the men only.

I am surprised that huge breasts appear lower down than small ones! My wife has a theory that tall foreign men prefer short Japanese women, although I wonder if it is just because we tend to remember the height mismatches and forget the more size-compatable couples?

Note that for weight, the four categories in ascending size are slim, average, well built, and fat. The other two statistics should be self-explanatory.
Read the rest of this entry »

goo Ranking seems to have started an interesting series looking at what typical behaviour one has experienced in food chains, with the first two being looked at being Starbucks and Subway.

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of March 2013 over 1,000 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. However, the link to the full demographics is not operating right now… Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

I actually prefer Tully’s to Starbucks – Tully’s is usually not quite so packed, and their menu actually looks like a coffee shop menu. There’s probably also an element of me not wanting to be seen in place with so many foreigners…

I haven’t been to Subway for a while, although I will agree with number 15, their fried potato is excellent.
Read the rest of this entry »

This ranking survey from goo Ranking used a word I haven’t heard for a while, mottainai, “what a waste”, in a survey entitled what things at work do people think are mottainai?

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of February 2013 1,122 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 60.1% of the sample were female, 10.2% in their teens, 16.6% in their twenties, 26.5% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties, 11.1% in their fifties, and 10.6% 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.

My place of work tries to avoid most of the wastes below, but one thing I notice in the office but not listed here is a bilingual poster that is in all the toilet cubicles that reads something like “Please close the toilet seat after use. This saves 15 grammes of CO₂ per day.” 15 grammes of CO₂ is a bit difficult to picture, but apparently is about the same as boiling a kettle, according to Google. Talking of saving electricity, and related to number 4, here is a snap from Flickr, although from a train rather than an office:

Read the rest of this entry »

japan.internet.com recently reported on the 7th regular survey by goo Research into mobile phone, smartphone upgrades.

Demographics

Over the 25th and 26th of February 2013 1,073 mobile phone-using (including smartphone-using) members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.0% of the sample were male, 1.0% in their teens, 10.6% in their twenties, 24.5% in their thirties, 29.1% in their forties, and 34.8% aged fifty or older.

I’m surprised to see Sharp in second place, as I feel they hardly do any advertising these days, although I suppose avoiding going bust is a more important issue for them to be worrying about. I’m also surprised to see Samsung so low, as conversely they have about the most adverts on television, although I thought this often-shown one for the Galaxy Note would have been the average Japanese person’s nightmare to have their own photo spread around the internet like that.
Read the rest of this entry »

japan.internet.com recently reported on a survey by Weather News, entitled the first survey into hayfever.

Demographics

Between the 8th and 12th of March 2013 over 40,000 users of the Weather News web site completed a public survey. No further information was presented, including how many people actually reported having hayfever, although it might be that only hayfever sufferers completed the survey.

My hayfever actually started at the end of December, and I had to go to the doctor. However, it soon went away, then restarted at the start of March, and seems to come and go, but definitely lighter symptoms than last year, and I think we’ve now passed the worse of the cedar pollen.
Read the rest of this entry »