世論 What Japan Thinks

The following survey from Macromill was very superficially summarised in the press, focusing on just a single question when a lot more interesting data was available regarding mobile phone use of mothers bringing up children.

Demographics

Over the 5th and 6th of November 2009 500 married mothers from the Macromill monitor group completed a private mobile phone-based questionnaire. All the sample was female, of course, and 25.0% were between 20 and 24, 25.0% between 25 and 29, 25.0% between 30 and 34, and 25.0% between 35 and 39 years old.

Some of the figures are very surprising to me (mainly because I’m not a young mother) such as just over half the youngest age group writing a Mommy blog and over a quarter shopping or bidding in auctions at least once a week, although I did expect the number of emails exchanged to be higher!
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Here’s yet another novel subject for a survey from MyVoice, where they look at a subject at which I excel, but my wife just cannot do, namely ironing.

Demographics

Between the 27th and 30th of October 2009 518 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.8% of the sample were male, 30.3% in their twenties, 34.0% in their thirties, and 35.7% in their forties.

One thing that did strike me when I first came to Japan was the lack of ironing of clothes, not just for men but women also, wearing fashionable clothing but covered in wrinkles. I like ironing myself, but I only bother with trousers and shirts. My mother goes as far as ironing socks, which I think is just a bit too keen! (Sorry Mum!)
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A recent survey from goo Research, reported on by japan.internet.com, looked at consumer games machines, the second regular look at this topic. I translated the first survey here two months ago.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 7th of November 2009 1,084 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were male, 16.2% in their teens, 18.2% in their twenties, 21.6% in their thirties, 16.1% in their forties, and 27.9% aged fifty or older.

Every time a console survey comes up I say I’ll have to buy a Wii, and today is no exception, especially as I was recently measured up as being officially metabo, or in English a fat git, so what better way to diet than to get a Wii Fit, with the new release having advanced options tailored towards trimming the waistline.
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Here’s an interesting look from goo Research, reported on by japan.internet.com, into USB-connected peripherals.

Demographics

Over the 12th and 13th of November 2009 1,077 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.3% of the sample were male, 16.5% were in their teens, 18.3% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties, 16.3% int heir forties, 15.2% in their fifties, and 12.2% aged sixty or older.

Note, many of the links in Q1SQ1 below link to fine Christmas stocking fillers like this one:

And some link to utter tat…
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With swine flu doing the rounds of many countries including Japan, here’s an indepth look by MyVoice at swine flu.

Demographics

Over the first five days of November 13,813 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 12% in their twenties, 34% in their thirties, 31% in their forties, and 22% aged fifty or older.

When the pandemic first appeared, the press completely overblew the whole affair, but now it seems quite the opposite, with very little information being available on even the basic information such as the number of new cases per week. Also, there is no public service advertising (that I have seen) on television giving tips on how to cover a cough or what measures one should take to prepare for a serious epidemic.

I’ll probably not bother with a vaccination, not out of worries about the vaccine itself, but just that by the time it gets round to me I’ll probably either have had it or the epidemic will have blown itself out.
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I know I said last week I would not post any more on herbivore boys, a promise I will keep by instead posting a goo Ranking looking at carnivorous girls.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 24th of September 2009 1,156 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 63.8% of the sample were female, 10.1% in their teens, 20.8% in their twenties, 30.0% in their thirties, 23.4% in their forties, 9.3% in their fifties, and 6.4% 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 does seem like a rather unusual demographic spread for goo Research.
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Not me personally, but the members of the goo Research monitor group reported on their worst-ever kiss, for both women and men.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 24th of September 2009 1,156 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 63.8% of the sample were female, 10.1% in their teens, 20.8% in their twenties, 30.0% in their thirties, 23.4% in their forties, 9.3% in their fifties, and 6.4% 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 does seem like a rather unusual demographic spread for goo Research.

Luckily I haven’t suffered from many on the list, although we once got chased off from beside a vending machine by someone who wanted to use it…
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Having done alcohol consumption earlier in the week, today I take a look at a survey from DIMSDRIVE Research into temperature of drinking water, etc, with a faddy diet as a bonus!

Demographics

Between the 6th and 8th of November 2009 9,947 members of the DIMSDRIVE monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.9% of the sample were male, 0.6% in their teens, 8.4% in their twenties, 27.6% in their thirties, 32.7% in their forties, 19.0% in their fifties, and 11.7% aged sixty or older.

The fad diet is the Sayu diet, 白湯 in kanji, the drinking of water at between 40°C and 50°C. Looking at the answers below, it appears it should raise one’s metabolism and burn more fat for the same food intake. Who knows if it works or not, although I would guess that the answer would be no, it doesn’t!
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Thank Goodness It’s Friday is, or at least was, called Hana No Kinyoubi (花の金曜日), Flower Friday, and may be shortened to just Hana-Kin (花金). The term came into use in the 1980s, but now has mostly falled into disuse. The TGIF feeling was the topic of this recent survey from iShare.

Demographics

Between the 29th of October and the 4th of November 2009 574 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.7% of the sample were male, 31.5% in their twenties, 33.8% in their thirties, and 34.7% in their forties.

Back when I worked in Scotland, the TGIF feeling usually started on the Friday morning, resulting in a lunchtime visit to the pub, although these days the anticipation is of merely a lie in on Saturday morning! Just last month I started Saturday morning Japanese lessons, so now I don’t even have the lie in to look forward too!
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Here’s another interesting look at drinking alcohol with MyVoice.

Demographics

Over the first five days of October 2009 13,102 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 14% in their twenties, 32% in their thirties, 32% in their forties, and 22% aged fifty or older.

I just read today about Japan and the social cost of alcohol, which is interesting reading, and I agree on the whole with the facts and the conclusion, although the estimate of the number of alcoholics seems on the low side, or else the diagnosis of an alcoholic in Japan is somewhat different to the west. The most interesting figure, though, is the social cost of alcohol. This article say 6.6 trillion yen, whereas a similar figure from a BBC article suggests £6.4 billion in terms of productivity losses. Working at 150 yen to the pound and populations of 130 million versus 65 million, that makes the cost to Japan industry almost 3.5 times greater!
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