Why Japanese can’t get promotion

I know yesterday was Silly Sunday, but I’ve had this survey sitting on my hard disk for ages, so I thought I’d just get this look at why people think they can’t get promotion, conducted as usual by goo Ranking.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.3% of the sample were male, 5.7% in their teens, 14.4% in their twenties, 31,0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 10.5% in their fifties, and 10.4% 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.

None of the answers were “Because I spend all my time filling (or translating for that matter!) these stupid surveys”, however.

I was also rather free with my translation of answer 2.
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Where Japanese would like to stand

Ahh, goo Ranking, how I love your off-the-wall surveys and the even more off-the-wall answers. This time it was asking people where they would like to stand just once.

Demographics

Between the 24th and 26th of September 2008 1,044 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.8% of the sample were female, 5.8% in their teens, 12.7% in their twenties, 32.3% in their thirties, 27.6% in their forties, 12.3% 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.

Being serious, I’d probably choose Everest, if silly it would have to be on Totoro’s stomach too! I’m surprised the grand staircase at Takarazuka Theatre doesn’t feature on the list, however.

I borrowed the photos from various web sites, but I got the rather nice Elvis from iconka.com. Hold the mouse over the pictures to see the description.
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If I were a woman…

That’s the question posed by goo Ranking for this Sunday’s silly survey, a look at what Japanese men would want to do once if they were female. Actually, although the above survey title is a relatively literal translation, a better one would be something like what would men like to experience once as a woman.

Demographics

Between the 24th and 26th of September 2008 1,044 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.8% of the sample were female, although in this case it was of course the other 49.4% males only who answered, 5.8% in their teens, 12.7% in their twenties, 32.3% in their thirties, 27.6% in their forties, 12.3% 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.

Answer 18 is a cracker! Here, foreigner most likely implies westerners, I strongly suspect.

I’m sure not being female doesn’t stop people doing 4, 5, 9, 14, and 15, of course. Interestingly, none of the men here seem to be wanting to seek the answers for mysterious female behaviour.

Sadly, the matching female question has not been posted yet, but I’ll be sure to publish it once it does.
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Forgiveness in Japanese relationships

This Sunday I have a pair of loosely-connected surveys, the first on what would you forgive you partner for doing, for both men forgiving women and women forgiving men. Next up is perhaps why one would forgive one’s other half, namely what aspects of him or her do they like, again both what men like about their women and what women like about their men.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.3% of the sample were male, 5.7% in their teens, 14.4% in their twenties, 31,0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 10.5% in their fifties, and 10.4% 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.

I find it interesting that for people’s other half qualities like “considerate”, “courteous” or “well-mannered” do not appear on the list.
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Mysterious behaviour of Japanese women and men

The ways of the opposite sex are baffling to many of us, so this little bit of frivolity from goo Ranking looked at what people can’t figure out about the opposite sex, for both men being baffled by women and women being baffled by men

Demographics

Between the 19th and 21st of August 2008 1,028 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.0% of the sample were female, 5.7% in their teens, 11.2% in their twenties, 30.4% in their thirties, 30.6% in their forties, 14.7% in their fifties, and 7.3% 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’ll have to nod in agreement with just about all the women’s behaviours! Number 4 is most irritating for me, and number 6 is just inexplicable!

For the men’s number one, women obviously don’t know that about half the men in my office gob into the urinal. I have no clue why either. Talking of men liking Gundam, Japan Today had a strange quote from a comedian regarding Gundam and pr0n!
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Sizing up your Japanese female friend’s pad

Next in an occasional series of goo Ranking-supplied silliness on views of home life is what people can’t help checking out when visiting a friend’s room, for both checking women and checking men.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.3% of the sample were male, 5.7% in their teens, 14.4% in their twenties, 31,0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 10.5% in their fifties, and 10.4% 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.

Coincidentally, recently I got an email from a reader asking for links to other surveys on this sort of topic, so here goes: scary home life of friends of the opposite sex and why your room turns women or men off.
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What the new Japanese Prime Minister should do

With five candidates standing for leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, it should be quite a battle for…what am I saying, Taro Aso is a shoo-in. As to what policies he might enact, goo Ranking asked members of the goo Research monitor group what matters of policy they would like to see realised.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.3% of the sample were male, 5.7% in their teens, 14.4% in their twenties, 31,0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 10.5% in their fifties, and 10.4% 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.

I must say they are mostly reasonably sensible, but also very inward-looking. I’m surprised there wasn’t anything about North Korea, however, and disappointed but not surprised that taxing ciggies did not appear.
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Poorly-understood job titles in Japan

Here’s a quick ranking survery from goo Ranking to squeeze in as my entry to the September 2008 Japan Blog Matsuri on poorly-understood job titles in Japan. As the theme of this month’s Matsuri is language, I’ll list the original Japanese too. I’ll bet many of my readers will be stumped by some of the translations too!

Demographics

Between the 25th and 28th of July 2008 1,072 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.3% of the sample were male, 5.7% in their teens, 14.4% in their twenties, 31,0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 10.5% in their fifties, and 10.4% 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.
It’s interesting that most of the confusing job titles are English ones. Number 7, Vice-President, refers not to people like Dick Cheney, but to something I notice in start-ups, where everyone in at the founding and/or with substantial shareholdings gets an honorary vice-presidentship for their troubles. I’m not sure what number 14 is doing on the list - an orchestra conductor is a 指揮者, shikisha - do they mean bus conductor?

I used to have an unofficial job title of Transcontinental Code Monkey (I might even still have the T-shirt somewhere), but that’s another story.

Oh, and for the Blog Matsuri I though this or this would have been much more appropriate, but the translation defeated me!
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Memories of Japanese high school love

This week’s Silly Sunday looks at love in Japanese high schools, in particular people’s personal memories from there, for both men and women.

Demographics

Between the 11th and 15th of July 2008 1,064 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.9% of the sample were female, 10.3% in their teens and 89.7% in their twenties. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.
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Getting dumped in Japan

Broken heartIf you’ve recently fallen out of love, my sympathies and please stop reading now! Otherwise, enjoy with me today’s Silly Sunday with goo Ranking where we look at what people do when their hearts get broken, for both boys and men and girls and women, as the sample was restricted to the under thirties.

Demographics

Between the 11th and 15th of July 2008 1,064 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 55.9% of the sample were female, 10.3% in their teens and 89.7% in their twenties. 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 not sure if the “do nothing” option means to fall into a catatonic state or to just shrug your shoulders and get on with life, although I would like to believe that it is the first of the two!

Photo from нσвσ on flickr. Just in case you can’t read, the kanji is “heart”.
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