世論 What Japan Thinks

As you will see once you read the results of this survey from goo Ranking into when guys couldn’t help thinking they were in with a chance, I had a lot of fun translating it.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 2nd of February 2009 1,076 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private online questionnaire. 51.1% of the sample were male, 7.2% in their teens, 15.8% in their twenties, 29.4% in their thirties, 25.2% in their forties, 11.1% in their fifties, and 11.3% 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.

I’m sure there’s a more hip slang I could use in the headline, but you’ll just have to stick with the one above. I’m pretty much immune to these sorts of things, even before I got married! I get number 18 in shops quite a bit, when they cup one hand underneath mine to catch loose change, but I’ve never thought of it as an expression of desire!

Just in case you are wondering what giblets are doing in the last answer, giblets is the translation of the popular grilled beef restaurant dish ホルモン, or hormone, which I wonder if it has similar overtones to that of the English word from which the Japanese derives.
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Given the quality of public transport and the concentration of the population in urban areas, I was surprised by the results of this survey by MyVoice into car life, where almost four in five rated it necessary to some lesser or more degree.

Demographics

Over the first five days of March 2009 15,391 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 28% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

For me, owning a car is not needed in the slightest. I do rent a car twice or thrice a year when we need to visit various cemetaries, but outside these times I can manage shopping either just carrying stuff or getting home delivery; our speciality is going to a nearby Conan home centre and buying two or three trolleys full of kitchen and bathroom items, which we can get delivered to our door for just 800 yen. Add in the train tickets at 1,020 yen and it’s still under 2,000 yen once every six weeks or so, far cheaper than a car could ever be.
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For those of you who follow personal Japanese blogs, you’ve no doubt heard all about the rubbish separation and disposal systems in Japan, with one ritual being 粗大ゴミ, sodai gomi, the big rubbish day, with tales of raiding the piles of household furniture and electronics for hidden jewels. With most municipalities now charging for, and with many requiring a special pick-up appointment for disposal of said sodai gomi, iBridge conducted a survey reported on by japan.internet.com into online public services for big rubbish pick-up.

Demographics

On the 23rd of March 2009 300 women from the iBridge monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 19.0% were in their twenties, 51.7% in their thirties, 21.3% in their forties, 6.7% in their fifties, and 1.3% in their sixties.

Since today is the first day of the new year, many other residents of Japan will be in the same boat as me with a change in the disposal rules – our town now requires recyclable plastic and PET bottles separated, and other plastic thrown out as burnables rather than all together as before. Glass separation has increased from two to three categories, plus uncleanable glass like nail polish bottles becomes unburnable rubbish which now gets thrown out with the burnables, I think. Perhaps I should consult the rubbish police?
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This recent survey from RealWorld RealResearch and reported on by japan.internet.com into earphones and headphones is one I’d like to see the full results for, as I’d like to learn more about why people buy new ‘phones; how much is being forced due to breakage, and how much is due to dissatisfaction with the stock set.

Research results

Over the 18th and 19th of March 2009 1,100 members of the RealWorld RealResearch monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 58.1% of the sample were male, 8.1% in their teens, 19.2% in their twenties, 25.9% in their thirties, 21.1% in their forties, 15.8% in their fifties, and 9.9% aged sixty or older.

This is yet another survey showing how that digital players are on dominating the market, in both the form of the iPod and friends and as mobile phones with music features.

I don’t own any sort of portable player, so I cannot comment on the survey. However, I do promote earphones, and you can see pictured above Mickey Mouse earbuds, but if that’s not quite your thing, can I interest you in piggy-shaped ones?
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In response to an article from Debito Arudou on discriminatory foreign persecution in the Japanese legal system, I just had to write to the editor to tell them what I thought about the article:

Debito Arudou does paint a bleak picture of the travails of many foreigners at the hands of the Japanese legal system. I do have issues with a couple of his points, though. First, he asserts that “bail [is] impossible for non-Japanese to get.” Yet, simply typing “foreigner bail” into The Japan Times’ online search engine reveals a story about a foreigner getting bail.

Second, Arudou concludes the article by painting the Japanese with a broad brush that I suspect he would be quick to condemn if others made such a claim. He states that the Japanese are “actually scared stiff of the police and the public prosecutor.” He provides no evidence to back this up.

However, in December 2006, a survey by Japan’s Cabinet Office found that 56.7 percent would always report crimes they witnessed and 41.1 percent would sometimes do so, depending on the circumstances. Fear of reprisals from criminals was the main reason people would not come forward. Additionally, 96.6 percent of those surveyed would cooperate to a greater or lesser degree with investigations. These attitudes hardly demonstrate that the Japanese are scared stiff of the authorities.

The statistics I refer to can be found in Q10 and Q11 here, in a survey that highlighted the average Japanese person’s perception that the breakdown in law and order is caused by foreigners.

I could bore you silly by addressing each point in his original article, but instead I’ll point you at Jun Okamura’s reply on GlobalTalk21 and the lively discussions at Japan Probe.

Energy drinks are a big business in Japan, but I do try to avoid them. However, this recent survey from iShare Inc showed that about three in five Japanese aged between 30 and 59 imbibe these nutritional drinks.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 10th of March 2009 495 mobile phone-owning members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 56.4% of the sample were male, 23.8% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, and 44.4% in their fifties.

Taurine seems to have some sort of benefit to muscles and removing fatty deposits from livers, but no proven energy boost, despite it being sold as such in Japan.
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With tomorrow being April Fools’ Day, what would be more appropriate than a look with iShare at virtual April Fools.

Demographics

Between the 10th and 13th of March 2009 380 mobile phone-owning members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.4% of the sample were male, 37.4% in their twenties, 27.4% in their thirties, and 35.3% in their forties.

April Fools’ Day is I feel not widely known in Japan, although that wasn’t one of the questions asked in this survey. I always keep thinking I ought to do an April Fool here, but I never come up with a good idea. Or am I just saying that to try to catch you off your guard? Or did I just state that in order to confuse you? You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow!

For reference, the JIAFA, Japan Internet April Fool Association, mentioned in Q3 has its website here, although it is rather a barren place. It might be a bit more lively tomorrow, however.

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Inspired by Japan Probe’s many posts on Nocchi and other bad Obama lookalikes, and with a large bit of help from Shane at Nihon Sun with the logo, I proudly present Obama or Not.

Have fun!

The one thing that isn’t a dishwasher in Japan is the average husband (a suspiciously-optimistic figure of one in four wash them) and it’s the third most hated job for wives, so with that in mind, this survey from MyVoice looked at how dishwashers are used in Japan.

Demographics

Over the first five days of March 2009 15,395 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

We once bought a counter-top dishwasher, but it was too slow and not reliable at cleaning, so we only ever used it half a dozen times. We tried to palm it off to the parents-in-law, but they were similarly unimpressed and sent it back! It’s now gathering dust (and rust, no doubt) in the back of our trunk room.

I do the evening washing up all the time, so if we actually had a dishwasher I’d be seen to be not pulling my weight with the housework, therefore no dishwasher actually helps maintain domestic harmony! I do actually enjoy (well, not actively dislike) doing them, which does help.
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The twin topics of this recent pair of surveys from goo Ranking was what women think they cannot get men to understand and what men find difficult to understand about women.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 2nd of February 2009 1,076 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private online questionnaire. 51.1% of the sample were male, 7.2% in their teens, 15.8% in their twenties, 29.4% in their thirties, 25.2% in their forties, 11.1% in their fifties, and 11.3% 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.

Listening (or at least pretending to do so!) to women and not being silent, even if it is just a grunt in reply, is one thing that I cannot really get my head around. When I’m annoyed, I just talk to myself just to get it all out, so I don’t understand why they can’t just do the same!

I used to wonder about why my wife used so much toilet paper, but I recently saw a program that suggested both male and female Japanese roll up about five to ten metres of the stuff whereas I was taught to use just five to eight sheets, fold the top over once or twice, and off you go. I wonder how washlet toilets and the resultant wet bum results in excessive toilet paper usage? We (well, she…) go through almost a roll per day!
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