世論 What Japan Thinks

Although Joe Jones at MutantFrog is arguing that Japan doesn’t need work-life balance, I think it is badly needed, so this ranking survey from goo Ranking looking at what systems people think companies should introduce to realise work-life balance, for both men and women, was rather informative for me.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 23rd of November 2008 1,083 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a privacte internet-based questionnaire. 50.4% of the sample were female, 9.0% in their teens, 15.7% in their twenties, 29.1% in their thirties, 25.5% in their forties, 11.3% in their fifties, and 9.4% 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.

Just in case the terminology is a bit unclear, nursing refers to looking after an aged or infirm relative, and “returning to the workforce systems” is for mothers looking for a new job, as currently they find it very difficult to get a professional post after a few years out of the market. On the other hand, “support for returning to the same job” is to ease transition back into one’s old workplace after perhaps just a year or two off.

What’s needed in my opinion is training in time management to teach everyone how to do their job in the nine-to-five, and all the associated support systems that go along with that to ensure it is enforced at all levels in the workplace.
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This was the question posed by goo Ranking, to see what people would want to do if they had 100 million yen in banknotes.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 23rd of November 2008 1,083 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.4% of the sample were female, 9.0% in their teens, 15.7% in their twenties, 29.1% in their thirties, 25.5% in their forties, 11.3% in their fifties, and 9.4% 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’d have to go with the money bath; I’m surprised “light cigarettes with it” didn’t feature, though, as that’s another popular image of having money to burn. I’m not sure why slapping someone in the face appears so high in the ratings, however. Does anyone recognise the reference in Japanese popular culture?
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Another difficult word to translate into English is モテる, moteru. The dictionary lists translations such as “to be well-liked” and “to be welcomed”, but I feel they don’t really capture the full spirit of the term. There’s also probably a good modern-day slang equivalent of being an It Girl (or Boy), being able to turn guys’ heads and be the envy of your female friends, but I haven’t a clue what it might be. The survey itself uses just “popular” in the URL, so I’ll stick with just that as I introduce this one from goo Ranking into what people want to apply themselves to this year in order to become popular, for both men and women.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 23rd of November 2008 1,083 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.4% of the sample were female, 9.0% in their teens, 15.7% in their twenties, 29.1% in their thirties, 25.5% in their forties, 11.3% in their fifties, and 9.4% 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 suspect the “increasing the number of popular hobbies I have” answer refers to stopping being such of an otaku/nerd/anorak!

Even some men want whiter skin, but curiously getting one’s teeth fixed appears nowhere.

For me, it would have to be stopping being such an anti-social git! Interestingly, being more communicative doesn’t come up as a direct answer, and it’s different from being a good listener or talker.
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goo Ranking recently asked the women of the goo Research monitor panel about when they want someone by their side, a survey that drew a lot more negative than positive images.

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% 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. Since this was a female-only survey, only the 554 women answered.

7 and 9 are about the only two positive times (20 might be too), when they want someone to share the joy with; the rest are either sharing the misery or warding off loneliness!

Just to clarify about number 14, in Japan Christmas Eve is for some reason a night for couples, so hearing an Xmas number, rather than bringing out the urge to smash the radio with a hammer, reminds some women of how they don’t have a date. Number 4 is a similar manifestation of the syndrome, when the Christmas lights are ablase – another survey that I may translate this week shows that illuminations are the ideal Christmas date for women.
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For this week’s lighter look at opinions, goo Ranking investigated what makes people feel are men’s status symbols, for both men and women.

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. 50.6% of the sample were male, 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.

The car being number one should be no suprise to anyone, but I’m surprised with a watch being so high, higher than tailored suits, but perhaps that reflects a conservatism in Japanese dress.

My car is a train, I work in computers, my degree’s from a university probably no-one in Japan’s heard of, and my watch cost 10,000 ANA air miles. From the women’s list, I can only claim to have 7 and 8 as marks of status!
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goo Ranking looked recently at from what occupation would one like to have a gocon with, for both women choosing men and men choosing women. A gocon is a dating party, usually consisting of three of four guys and three of four women, with each group usually being work colleagues.

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% 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.
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goo Ranking has done a whole series of these questions for each prefecture in Japan, but since this one is about my home prefecture, I thought I’d translate this survey on what comes to mind regarding Hyogo Prefecture.

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% 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.

All pictures are from flickr – click the credit column to access the original.
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Well, they are actually called 忘年会, bounenkai, forget the year parties, over here but they serve a similar purpose to said Xmas event. To find out what you shouldn’t do there, goo Ranking had a look at the NG activities at a bounenkai. NG is a commonly-used abbreviation in Japan too, for No Good.

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% 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.

Since this is a silly survey, I’ll be a bit freer with the translation today! I also couldn’t be bothered waiting until Sunday to present this.

I hope I can rely on Roaf at Gaijin Tonic to break most of these rules at this year’s bounenkai!

Which reminds me, you can buy drunken salarymen mobile phone charms from Strapya.
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This week’s fun from goo Ranking is a look at the secrets of keeping that newly-wed feeling going, for both men and women.

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% 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 not sure if unmarried people were excluded or asked to imagine what they should do.

Looking at the men’s list, I know to my cost that number two is very, very important, but I’m not sure that number ten is really advisable as a general rule!

Talking of newly-weds, one of my Japanese colleagues recently got married, and shortly afterwards went off to a work drinking party where the long-time married guys were giving him advice. The key was to be really selfish for the first month so that the ground rules get established, as being too cooperative straight off the bat would only lead to trouble further down the line!
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At the world marches on, fixtures from our childhood become outdated and start to disappear, leaving just an empty feeling behind. This survey from goo Ranking looked at what disappearing items make the Japanese feel lonely

Demographics

Between the 21th and 24th of October 2008 1,056 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were female, 5.0% in their teens, 13.2% in their twenties, 28.4% in their thirties, 31.5% in their forties, 13.1% in their fifties, and 8.8% 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 can think of a lot of intangible items I miss, but as for the tangible, I do miss line printers with fan-fold paper! As a developer, running over a set of A4 pages with too much word-wrapping is just not as satisfying nor as productive as a heap of fan-fold. From the list, 18, quiz programs with members of the public is the one I can most identify with.
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