世論 What Japan Thinks

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!
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Continuing the accommodation theme, this survey from goo Ranking looks at nuggets of wisdom for avoiding a failure when choosing rented accommodation.

Demographics

From the 6th to the 9th of July 2012 1,016 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 60.0% of the sample were female, 9.9% in their teens, 12.7% in their twenties, 29.0% in their thirties, 27.0% in their forties, 11.0% in their fifties, and 10.3% 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.

The first time I rented in Japan I was accompanied by people from the office who I assume dealt with all the tricky bits. About the only thing I should have confirmed was how to use the air conditioning, and the maxiumum load on the electrics. The second was a serious fail as turning on the microwave and the television simultaneously, for instance, was enough to trip the breaker. Looking at my parents-in-law’s place, they have a major problem that although the flat was remodelled before they moved in and the main window replaced by a nice new one, the window frame is not airtight and in winter a cold breeze blows though their flat.
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goo Ranking recently took a look at the reasons people want to quit living alone and move into shared accomodation.

Demographics

From the 6th to the 9th of July 2012 1,016 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 60.0% of the sample were female, 9.9% in their teens, 12.7% in their twenties, 29.0% in their thirties, 27.0% in their forties, 11.0% in their fifties, and 10.3% 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 just have to get this off my chest, but I quite dislike the US English terms for this, room share and room-mates, as I always imagine a much more intimate relationship than the UK English term, flat-mate, although I’m sure that term would confuse many a US English speaker! Sadly the Japanese term is also the US English “Room Share” imported as-is into the language.

I shared for four years in university (two in dorms, two in a flat) and then two years after graduation, but I was quite glad to move out into my own flat after that!
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iShare recently released a detailed look at where single businesspeople live.

Demographics

Between the 13th and 17th of January 2011 1,192 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. All lived within Tokyo or two of the neighbouring prefectures Kanagawa and Saitama, and were single, in full-time employment, and with no wedding plans. 74.6% of the sample were male, 7.3% in their twenties, 55.4% in their thirties, and 37.3% in their forties.

You’ll note that despite the older age profile just around 14% have their own place and 35% live at home. This is in part due to stupidly-high property prices in the Tokyo area, and perhaps also due to property very rarely going up in price, usually depreciating as fast as the average car; it is only really the land underneath that can make money.

In Q1SQ3 Japanese code for counting rooms is used. 1R is “One Room”, the most basic studio. 1K is one room plus a kitchen, although that usually means just one burner and a sink in a corridor. 1DK adds a dining room or more usually space for a kitchen table, 1LDK adds a living room or living area. 2 and 3 indicate two or three rooms other than the L, D or K.

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