世論 What Japan Thinks

goo Ranking recently published another rather entertaining survey, this time on where people would least like to go on a first date to, with both male and female versions published.

As usual for goo Ranking, there is no demographic information available about the sample size, only that the votes were gathered between the 19th and 20th of April from members of the goo Research monitor group. The top voted location was awarded 100 points, and the others awarded a score representing the relative percentage of votes they got.
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At the weekend トリビアの泉, Trivia no Izumi, Fount of Trivia looked at that most vital of questions, what is cuteness. They gathered together five top researchers in the field who spent seven hours designing the ultimate in cuteness. This character was passed on to the chief Hello Kitty designer for final touch up and presentation to the world.

But before we get to that, they also surveyed the public to find out what they thought Japan’s cutest character was.
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With Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net running a group writing project and competition of the subject of Top 5 Things, I thought I’d try entering the competition too with a fun look back at some of the things I’ve learnt through my translation activities for this blog. It’s also a good excuse to summarise some of the sillier posts for the benefit of my newer readers.
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I now present yet another slightly odd goo Ranking, this time on what people do when they feel drowsy behind the wheel. As usual, there is no demographic information. The survey was conducted between the 20th and 22nd of March 2007.

Note that there is perhaps some scope for overlap in the answers. For instance, the top option is chewing gum and the fourth is taking caffeine. However, there is at least one brand of gum that contains caffeine, and in fact is advertised on television as a pick-me-up when feeling tired whilst driving.
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With Japan’s Golden Week holidays almost upon us, and with the submission deadline for the April Japan Blog Matsuri just 10 days away, I would like to present my entry, another slightly strange from a Western point of view ranking survey from goo Ranking on what people would most like to eat after returning from a foreign holiday. The survey was conducted between the 20th and 22nd of March 2007.

One may note that a number of the entries in the list are actually recently-imported dishes: number 9, curry, is the first obvious one, but Japanese “curry” (stew with a hint of spice, usually) and sticky rice is quite a different experience from a real curry such as one might find in the UK.

This survey might also go some way to explaining why so many Japanese, even those going as far as the International Space Station, find they need to pack a few Cup Noodles in their suitcases.
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As part of their 113th Ranking Research, DIMSDRIVE Research looked at what people’s little luxuries were.

Demographics

Between the 14th and 22nd of March 5,537 members of their online community successfully completed a private internet-based survey. 45.0% of the sample was male.

It’s interesting to note that seven out of the ten directly involve eating, and one could argue that taking a trip to an onsen is as much for the food as the bath. By the way, I don’t know why “eating out” and “eating at a restaurant” are listed separately, although I suspect if they grouped together all the eating options there might not be many other answers left!
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As part of their 113th Ranking Research, DIMSDRIVE Research asked their online panel what Japanese movies would they recommend to foreigners.

Demographics

5,537 members of their monitor panel successfully completed the questionnaire. 55.0% of the sample was female.

“It’s Hard Being a Man” (Otoko ha Tsurai yo) series seems a rather strange choice, as from what I can gather the plots (or is it plot singular?) are based around such Japanese values that they would be rather difficult to translate, and even with a good translation the cultural cues would be lost on the average viewer. I suspect it might be like recommending the Carry On series to the Japanese as a means of understanding the UK!
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With the recent negative news breaking regarding TOTO toilets going up in smoke, let’s look at the more positive side of Japanese toilets through a survey published by goo Rankings on what function or service people are most happy to find in public restrooms. The survey was conducted between the 22nd and 24th of February 2007, but no more demographic information is available, although looking at the results it is perhaps a mainly female audience who completed the survey. Note that the score column has 100 points for the top vote getter, and for the other entries the score is the percentage of the top’s vote total that that entry received.

The first time I experienced the top ranking warm toilet seat it was a strangely disconcerting feeling, as to that point warmth was associated with someone else having recently used said loo, but now I love the feature, and my toilet at home also has a cloth cover for even more soothing comfort on the chilly nights.

Number four, also known in Japanese by the brand name “Oto Hime”, or “Sound Princess“, plays a wee tune to cover up the plops and splashes as one does one’s business. I saw my first only two weekends ago in a small cafè; I really wanted to press the button, but we were the only customers and the owner is a friend of my wife’s family, so I just couldn’t.
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Just today goo Rankings published a new survey, this time looking at what people would be happy about if it were invented within the next 10 years.As usual for goo Rankings, there is no demographic information, just that the fieldwork was conducted between the 22nd and 24th of February this year. In addition, on a similar theme they also asked what people would like to do within the next ten years.

In Q1, I’m very surprised the perhaps more mundane cure for cancer didn’t feature, although I’m not disappointed to see the clichéd flying car making an appearance at number 6. Also, I guess Asimov doesn’t count as a humanoid robot as perhaps people want to see an autonomous android-like device. I’m not really sure what number 10 is, however: perhaps it means you can walk on the ceiling too?

In Q2, the second place mastering one’s hobby does seem rather odd to me.
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I spotted this report of a survey on the top 10 photo locations in Japan (or did they mean Tokyo only?) as chosen by 100 tourists randomly stopped in the Tokyo streets.

The article, sadly, is missing photographs of said items, although a quick Google Images search should show you the missing items; in fact, as a public service, here goes:

10. Tsukiji Fish Market
9. Kimono
8. Japanese street signs
7. Mt. Fuji
6. Vending machines
5. Narita Airport
4. Shibuya Crossing
3. Asahi Beer Headquarters
2. Tokyo Imperial Palace
1. Kaminari-mon.