世論 What Japan Thinks

In the fifteenth regular monthly survey by goo Research into terrestrial digital television broadcasts, japan.internet.com reported that very nearly three in four are now terrestrial digital ready, whether it be with television or video equipment.

Demographics

Between the 26th and 28th of July 2010 1,085 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.1% of the sample were male, 16.7% in their teens, 18.1% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties, 16.3% in their forties, 15.8% in their fifties, and 11.8% agerd sixty or over.

The switchover to digital is now less than a year away, with the 24th of July 2011 being the analogue switch-off day. Although the news last weekend reported that television and other device sales over the summer softened, affecting the GDP adversely, with the eco point system due to end in December, I predict that the autumn and early winter will see the sales of televisions pick up again as both deadlines approach.

I need to buy two televisions; one for home, and one with a built-in hard disk recorder for the parents-in-law as they have been muttering that a tuner box will not be enough.
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Let’s get the What Japan Thinks show back on the road after the holidays with this look by goo Research, reported on by japan.internet.com, into home appliances, the sixth time this regular survey has been conducted.

Demographics

Between the 28th of July and the 3rd of August 2010 1,041 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.8% of the sample were male, 16.2% in their teens, 18.0% in their twenties, 21.2% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 15.9% in their fifties, and 12.4% aged sixty or older.

I did buy one electrical device last month, a Brother MyMio MFC-735CD phone/fax/answering machine/printer/scanner/SD card reader/kitchen sink device (linked US version has no wireless handset, but has networking). Our old telephone’s screen suddenly went blank, so we checked out new ones in a nearby electrical store and nearly bought there, but we instead used kakaku.com to do a price check (if you’re in Japan, don’t buy anything without checking them out first!) and found Amazon just 106 yen off the cheapest, so of course with they being a big name we ordered from there. We placed the order at about 5 pm on Sunday evening, and even with just their standard free shipping it arrived the next day at about 2:30 pm!

In Q2, note that three of the top four items, digital televisions, air conditioners, and fridges, award eco points for purchase.
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A few months ago I remember seeing a news segment on internet-based social lending services, but I cannot say the idea appealed to me.

Demographics

Between the 21st and 26th of July 2010 1,073 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.9% of the sample were male, 15.8% were in their teens, 18.5% in their twenties, 20.8% in their thirties, 16.7% in their forties, 16.0% in their fifties, and 12.2% aged sixty or older.

Social lending services are basically online swap services. The one I saw on the television was points-based. Lending stuff out gained you points, borrowing stuff cost you points. Much of the stuff being circulated was household goods; items seemed to spend a month with one family before moving directly on to another, and another. However, rather than being something like, say, a high-end espresso maker, most of the items seemed to be not worth much more than the postage they would cost. Brand clothes and bags seemed to be another line that I could at least understand the attraction of.
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A recent quickie survey from iShare looked at file extensions.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 12th of July 2010 479 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 56.2% of the sample were male, 31.7% in their twenties, 32.2% in their thirties, and 36.1% in their forties.

There’s not really much for me to add to this survey except that I know all the extensions listed below.
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A recent survey from goo Research into mobile phones and video, their 62nd monthly survey, reported on by japan.internet.com produced some interesting results, although I’m not sure of how to interpret them as there is an inbuilt bias in this particular type of goo survey.

Demographics

Between the 15th and 22nd of July 2010 1,012 members of the goo Research mobile monitor group completed a private mobile phone internet-based questionnaire. 55.0% of the sample were female, 3.4% in their teens, 27.4% in their twenties, 35.8% in their thirties, 25.1% in their forties, and 8.4% aged fifty or older.

Mobile phone-based surveys tend to attract heavy users of mobile phones, and heavy users tend to be frequent phone upgraders, so tend to be a bit more ahead of the curve hardware-wise, as perhaps Q2 reveals.

I also strongly suspect that there is a relationship between having an iPhone and watching more video more frequently, be it pre-recorded or streamed from YouTube, but unfortunately there is no data on this.
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Here is another very interesting survey from goo Research, a look at child-rearing and working. This is the second time the survey has been conducted, the first time being in December 2007, but I didn’t translate that one.

Demographics

Between the 24th and 29th of June 2010 exactly 1,000 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. All of the sample were working mothers with a child under six years old. 44.6% of the sample were in regular full-time employment, 9.2% contract or dispatch workers, 38.6% part-time or casual, and 7.8% were on a child-rearing holiday.

You might want to look at another recent survey from goo Research on diverse working styles.

As far as I am aware, my employer has all the systems mentioned below in place for both mothers and fathers, although not surprisingly very few of the fathers avail themselves of any of the benefits; one day off for the baby popping out and another one for the mother being discharged from hospital seems about the size of it on average. Although Q6 shows that the wives want their husbands to make use of more benefits, Q7 and Q8 show a high degree of satisfaction with their husbands’ efforts. Are women setting the bar too low or are they just accepting that Japanese working styles on the whole result in father never seeing the kid on weekdays?
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For a number of months goo Research has been conducting a regular survey into mobile phone users’ use of computers, but the reports on japan.internet.com have been pretty uninteresting. However this time, the 18th time, the focus of the report was on email newsletters, or “mail magazines” as they are called in Japanese.

Demographics

Over the 12th and 13th of July 2010 1,087 mobile phone using members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private mobile internet-based questionnaire. 55.9% of the sample were female, 2.3% in their teens, 22.8% in their twenties, 39.7% in their thirties, 26.1% in their forties, and 9.0% aged fifty or older.

The only email newsletter I get on my mobile phone is from Mr Donut, as it sometimes offers coupons for discounts on doughnuts and coffee. Just about all my PC newsletters fall into the Other category, being related to various blogging sites and services.
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Recently, goo Research conducted a very thorough survey into media consumption in Japan, covering both the old and new media.

Demographics

Between the 2nd and 4th of June 2010 1,561 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were male, 16.1% in their teens, 18.1% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties, 16.1% in their forties, 15.8% in their fifties, and 12.4% aged sixty or older.

I’m surprised at the number who surf while watching television! I very rarely do so, perhaps because I can’t handle Japanese television as a background task because I need to use too much brain to follow the Japanese, especially as I often need to read the ever-present subtitles to help my understanding. Furthermore, even though television is a passive task, being married I think it is ignoring my spouse to some degree, and anyway it’s difficult to type with one arm round her shoulder…
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With 3D television starting to get off the ground in Japan, with a few particular programs being broadcast in 3D, goo Research took a look at television in general, but the report from japan.internet.com chose to focus on the 3D aspect.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 12th of July 2010 1,095 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.6% of the sample were male, 16.3% in their teens, 17.9% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties 16.4% in their forties, 15.5% in their fifties, and 12.4% aged sixty or older.

Although I’ve been to two 3D movies, I’ve not actually watched 3D television. I was in a store with a pair of 3D glasses set up, but they had some really rather uninteresting scenery sample playing, so I didn’t bother having a peek through the specs. I’ve no desire to buy despite manufacturers strongly pushing the new technology.
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Here’s a short and perhaps less interesting than it could have been look at software keyboards, not just touch panels as on many smartphones, but also pen or even mouse-operated on-screen keyboards. The survey was conducted by goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com.

Demographics

Over the 29th and 30th of June 2010 1,065 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were male, 16.1% in their teens, 18.5% in their twenties, 20.9% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 16.2% in their fifties, and 12.1% aged sixty or older.

Sort-of connected with this topic, on the news tonight I saw an item on the use of the iPad by seniors. There were things like a training school for older people, with almost everyone over 70 years old and the oldest 95, who said he was keen to learn how to use it. There also seems to be a mini boom in the Japanese software industry for making OAP-targeted iPad applications.
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