世論 What Japan Thinks

goo Ranking have another fun FAIL survey, this time looking at what personal grooming in the opposite sex takes you aback, for men looking at women and women looking at men.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 21st of December 2009 1,077 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.0% of the sample were female, 8.7% in their teens, 15.3% in their twenties, 27.0% in their thirties, 27.8% in their forties, 11.9% in their fifties, and 9.3% 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.
Read the rest of this entry »

goo Ranking took a look at what secrets that if you heard about someone of the opposite sex that you liked, they’d go down in your opinion, for both men hearing about women and women hearing about men.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 21st of December 2009 1,077 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.0% of the sample were female, 8.7% in their teens, 15.3% in their twenties, 27.0% in their thirties, 27.8% in their forties, 11.9% in their fifties, and 9.3% 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 to explain a couple, a Yankee is basically a juvenile delinquent, a gal is a young girl with dyed blonde hair and far too much makeup, and a gal-man is, according to Google Images, a guy with well, just look at the fine specimens here.
Read the rest of this entry »

iBridge Research Plus recently conducted a survey into family phone bills, which was reported on by japan.internet.com.

Demographics

On the 12th of January 2010 300 married female members of the iBridge monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 6.0% of the sample were in their twenties, 38.3% in their thirties, 34.3% in their forties, 15.7% in their fifties, and 5.7% in their sixties.

Both our phone bills come out of the family budget. I personally run up 2,600 yen per month on just about the cheapest plan going, wifey 8,000 yen or so depending on how many voice calls she makes.

Without knowing the number of people with school-aged mobile phone owning children, it’s difficult to judge if the 41 people in Q1SQ1 who pay children’s bills is large or small.
Read the rest of this entry »

Having seen at the end of last year that over three in four are hurting financially, iShare followed up with a look at taking on a second job.

Demographics

Between the 4th and 7th of January 2010 495 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.4% of the sample were male, 33.5% in their twenties, 31.9% in their thirties, and 34.5% in their forties.

16.1% of the men unemployed seems a very high percentage, and with only 4% between the figures for those in their twenties versus those in their thirties and forties, one cannot really say it is due to student numbers. I’d love to see the age figures broken down by sex just to see if there’s a trend.

I suppose I should count What Japan Thinks as my second job, and I wish I could say that I’m using the earnings to save for travel, but sadly it barely makes enough to cover my living expenses gap…
Read the rest of this entry »

Juki Net is a national scheme that is basically a voluntary ID card used mostly to simplify access to local government services, so a new service introduced this month is machines at convenience stores that can issue official residence certificates, seal registration forms, etc, so this was the topic of a recent survey from iShare.

Demographics

Between the 22nd of December 2009 and 4th of January 2010 561 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.4% of the sample were male, 32.6% in their twenties, 32.3% in their thirties, and 35.1% in their forties.

Here’s a very interesting background article on what exactly Juki Net is and what concerns people have regarding it.
Read the rest of this entry »

[part 1][part 2]

Recently, the Cabinet Office Japan took a detailed look at culture.

Demographics

Between the 11th and 15th of November 2009 3,000 people over the aged of twenty selected at random from resident lists all over the country were approached for interview. 1,853 people, or 61.8% were available and agreed to take part in face-to-face interviews. 52.6% of the sample were female, 8.7% in their twenties, 14.8% in their thirties, 17.6% in their forties, 16.6% in their fifties, 24.0% in their sixties, and 18.2% aged seventy or older.

Q14 is interesting in that traditional arts are what people think are most praised (not praiseworthy) worldwide. If traditional arts included bushido and ninjas, perhaps, but for the ones listed I hear they are worth seeing just once. Manga and anime are the most influential, I think, although perhaps not praised outside of a narrow demographic, and it is my personal mission to try to persuade as many of you that Takarazuka theatre should be experienced and hailed worldwide as a unique experience.
Read the rest of this entry »

[part 1][part 2]

Recently, the Cabinet Office Japan took a detailed look at culture.

Demographics

Between the 11th and 15th of November 2009 3,000 people over the aged of twenty selected at random from resident lists all over the country were approached for interview. 1,853 people, or 61.8% were available and agreed to take part in face-to-face interviews. 52.6% of the sample were female, 8.7% in their twenties, 14.8% in their thirties, 17.6% in their forties, 16.6% in their fifties, 24.0% in their sixties, and 18.2% aged seventy or older.

My two main cultural experiences are movies and theatre, especially musicals. I really should write reviews of what I see and get them published somewhere! I’ve been to one art gallery in the last year, which was in a rebuilt castle and filled with slightly creepy Christian art…
Read the rest of this entry »

Despite Japan having just about the cheapest and fastest home internet connections on the planet, this recent survey from iBridge Research Plus and reported on by japan.internet.com into home internet connections found the vast majority felt their pipes got quite blocked.

Demographics

On the 14th of December 2009 300 members of the iBridge Research Plus monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.3% of the sample were male, 13.0% in their twenties, 26.7% in their thirties, 35.3% in their forties, 17.0% in their fifties, and 8.0% in their sixties.

Despite 91.3% being on some form of broadband at home, nearly half reported a walking-speed connection. They may have low-end computers, but one cannot help wondering if 42% using Windows Explorer has anything to do with it? On my home PC, Opera flies, but my wife uses Internet Explorer 8 and it is ridiculously slow to create a new page (I’d vote tortoise rather than walking…), a combination of her having too many bookmarks and, I suspect, Rakuten toolbar.
Read the rest of this entry »

iShare once again take an interesting look at a corner of Japanese life, this time the matter of fortune telling.

Demographics

Between the 8th and 14th of January 2010 567 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54.0% of the sample were male, 34.7% in their twenties, 30.7% in their thirties, and 34.6% in their forties.

I must say I was surprised at how low the percentage of blood type believers were – I would have guessed that the majority believed, but perhaps it’s just that blood type is just an easy conversation starter, the equivalent of “What’s your sign?”
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s coming up to Valentine’s Day, which in Japan means that women buy gifts for men, on the whole, not only for their true love (or object of affection) but also for men at work, although with Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday this year, chocolate companies are hurting. So, today’s survey from Yahoo! Japan Value Insight is all about St Valentine’s Day.

Demographics

Between the 8th and 10th of January 2010 400 women between the ages of 20 and 39 resident within Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 100% were women, and 25.0% were aged between 20 and 24 years old, 25.0% between 25 and 29, 25.0% from 30 to 24, and 25.0% from 35 to 39.

The best chocolates I’ve received have been B.B. Chocolat Premier (hmm, they don’t seem to have an official web page), as I do like the look of them, which is just as important, if not more, that the actual taste on Valentine’s Day.
Read the rest of this entry »