世論 What Japan Thinks

As another part of their 91st Ranking Research, DIMSDRIVE Research looked at what people thought was the cause of their bad eyesight. We’ve seen previously how most Japanese wear glasses, so let’s have a look at why they do. No, that reason was not included in the answers! They interviewed 4,347 people (perhaps all thought their eyesight was bad) from their internet monitor group over a period of a week in the middle of August.

The main reason my eyes are wonky, I suspect, is as a child I spent a lot of time staring at the sun.
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At the start of July this year, MyVoice looked at food education. 12,489 members of their internet monitor group correctly responded to their survey. 46% of the sample was male, 3% in their teens, 21% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 25% in their forties, and 12% in their fifties.

Food education, or to use the Japanese term, 食育, shokuiku, is a term referring to the promotion of not just healthy eating, but all aspects of a sensible diet, from selecting the food through to enjoying the taste. Apparently last year there was even a law enacted, 食育基本法, shokuiki kihon hou, “Basic Law on Nutritional Education”, to allow such promotion to be carried out by local governments.

I’m not aware of an English version of the information on food education, but if anyone finds a good link, please feel free to mail me and I’ll update the post.
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In a survey performed over a week at the end of May, infoPLANT looked at how the Japanese brush their teeth. They used their usual method, a self-selecting questionnaire presented through the DoCoMo iMode menu system. They got 6,585 valid responses to the survey, with 67.0% of the sample female.

The state of Japanese teeth are one of common stereotypes one hears of, and a topic that I have featured before, in a translation of a survey on this topic last year by MyVoice.

I’m surprised that about three in ten brush soon after getting up, when after breakfast would be better, I believe; and less women brush before going to bed rather than after breakfast, although perhaps if those brushing at bath time, which is traditionally just before bed time, is added in, we would see the last thing at night figure would be higher.
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MyVoice surveyed their monitor community at the start of April this year to find out what they thought about detox. 15,145 members responded to the internet-based questionnaire; 46% of them were male, and 4% were in their teens, 22% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 24% in their forties, and 11% in their fifties.

The Japanese do seem to love their fad diets and other general health quackery. Germanium sticky pads do seem rather popular these days, replacing the rotating magnet as the most useless product heavily promoted on TV, although these neckbands of titanium are still heavily touted, and I saw an ad at the weekend suggesting that germanium ones are going to be big. I expect the Japan World Cup team to be sporting some of these wastes of cash in Germany next month.
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[part 1] [part 2]

goo Research recently performed a large investigation into HIV and AIDS awareness amongst the Japanese. 38,474 people supplied answers to the questions posted in an open to the public internet-based survey, availiable for a week at the end of November. The demographics were 2.7% 19 or under, 25.4% between 20 and 29, 39.8% from 30 to 39, 22.8% between 40 and 49, 7.2% between 50 and 59, and 2.3% sixty and over.

The second half of the survey sees that there is still a small but perhaps significant minority of those with prejudices against those with HIV and AIDS. There is also a larger minority with some reservations about these matters, but I think that, for instance, there has to be some rational discrimination – obvious ones like disallowing blood transfusions or regulations regarding working in environments where there are the risks of blood contamination are present, such as masks and gloves for food preparation.
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[part 1] [part 2]

goo Research recently performed a large investigation into HIV and AIDS awareness amongst the Japanese. 38,474 people supplied answers to the questions posted in an open to the public internet-based survey, availiable for a week at the end of November. The demographics were 2.7% 19 or under, 25.4% between 20 and 29, 39.8% from 30 to 39, 22.8% between 40 and 49, 7.2% between 50 and 59, and 2.3% sixty and over.

One of the more interesting results is the figure that almost one in three blame foreigners or Japanese playing around overseas as the reason for the increase in AIDS cases in Japan. This is an important figure to note, as it is an often recited statistic that a big number of Japanese blame foreigners for nasty diseases, an attitude I feel is a bit racist, especially as it usually comes from people who complain about discrimination from the Japanese. Whether or not 31.7% does represent a big number, and from that 31.7% how many are worried about the Japanese playing away from home versus the foreigner contingent, I’ll leave that for others to discuss.

Also of note are the condom usage statistics. Unfortunately, those in monogamous relationships are not listed separately, as that certainly affects usage rate, as does the low rate of usage of The Pill (must find some stats on that!).
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Last December, MyVoice carried out a survey about brushing teeth. In Japan, dentist skill, and dental hygiene, or lack thereof, is often a subject of ridicule by the foreign contingent, but I seem to have been lucky and found a very good dentist. Actually, if it hadn’t been for my Japanese dentist and all the work he did (yes, I have British teeth) I don’t think I’d have had the confidence to meet my wife.

They sought the opinion 16,013 people via a web-based survey from the internet community “MyVoice”, of whom 42% were male, and found, amongst other things, that not many people at all attend regular check-ups.

Q1: Each day, how many times do you normally brush your teeth?

Don’t usually do so	1%
Once	25%
Twice	53%
Thrice	19%
Four or more times	2%

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Getting the latest (allegedly) healthy food introduced on shows like Aru-Aru Daijiten can result in the product being sold out not just the day after, but for weeks on end. The biggest effect I remember was when they introduced CoQ10, resulting in Nature Made being out of stock and on back order for months, and since the program (about 18 months ago, I think) I have never again seen Nature Made’s CoQ10 in stores in Japan, although apparently they do still make it. This survey on health foods seems more geared towards foodstuffs than supplements, though.

Nippon Research Center Ltd asked 2,200 people of both sexes, of whom 1,165 cooperated with the survey, aged between 15 and 79 from all around the country.
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DIMSDRIVE Research carried out a survey at the end of October regarding importation of USA beef and beef consumption in general. As a vegetarian myself, I’m naturally ambivalent as to whether people can buy USA beef or not, but as an amateur statistician and UK citizen, I think the whole fuss about BSE and vCJD was overblown, as the figures show. I recognise that at first as it was an new variant of a terrible disease the risk could not be quantified and extreme caution was required, but it seems to have turned out to be not as virulent as first feared. Also, from a Japanese point of view, I suspect that the dangers of toxins from locally-caught seafood may be responsible for more deaths than vCJD in the UK! And don’t get me started on banning blood donations from people who have spent even just one day in the UK!

They interviewed 2,535 men and 3,468 women – 6,003 in total – from their internet monitor group. They performed a similar survey in December 2003, so the trend since then will also be pointed out where significant. The age breakdown was 1.3% in their teens, 18.1% from 20 to 29, 36.3% from 30 to 39, 27.1% from 40 to 49, 12.6% from 50 to 59, and 4.6% 60 or over. Note that I assume “beef” to mean the raw cuts (perhaps precooked too?) as a food ingredient, not restaurant meals. However, given the high figures for male purchases, either many are reporting their wives’ shopping habits or are including prepared food, but since convenience stores figure very low in the statistics, I suspect that the first is true, many men must be reporting their wives’ purchases.

Q: In the last month, about how often have you bought beef? (Sample size=6,003)

	This survey October 2005	Last survey December 2003
Four or more times a week	1.3%	1.6%
Two or three times a week	12.6%	11.6%
Once a week	27.5%	31.5%
Two or three times a month	24.2%	27.9%
Once a month	13.4%	10.3%
Never	21.0%	17.1%

Q: For those who have bought beef, where do you most often purchase it? (Sample size=4,742)

Convenience store	0.4%
Supermarket	83.9%
Department store	3.0%
Butchers	6.8%
Co-operative	4.9%
Others	1.0%

Q: For those who have bought beef, what one thing do you pay most attention to when you make your purchase? (Sample size=4,742)

Price	40.2%
Place of origin	27.9%
Freshness	13.9%
Quality	7.8%
Best-before date	5.7%
Grade	2.4%
Processor (?)	0.9%
Vendor	0.4%
Other	0.8%

Q: What was the country of origin of the beef you currently purchase? (Sample size=4,742, multiple answer)

Japan	62.8%
Australia	52.5%
New Zealand	8.7%
Canada	2.4%
Brazil	0.4%
China	0.3%
Argentina	0.2%
Other	0.1%
Don’t know	10.6

Q: This year it is said that USA beef imports will restart; how do you feel about this? (Sample size=6,003)

Extremely uneasy	28.1%
A little uneasy	38.2%
Not really uneasy	24.0%
Not at all uneasy	6.0%
Don’t know	3.7%

Q: If imports of USA beef resumes, will you buy any? (Sample size=6,003)

Yes	22.5%
No	41.5%
Don’t know	36.0%

Q: For those who won’t buy USA beef, if which points were improved would you buy? (Sample size=2,490, multiple answer)

If USA tested all cattle	62.6%
If it was scientifically proven safe	42.6%
If the particularly dangerous parts were completely removed on importation	31.8%
If only cattle that hadn’t eaten bone meal feed were sold	28.5%
If the origin of beef was displayed at all points of sale	22.9%
If the age of beef was displayed at all points of sale	12.5%
Others	3.9%
Regardless of what was improved I wouldn’t buy	20.1%

At the end of last month, goo Research performed a survey amongst over 20,000 women to find out their attitudes towards breast cancer. This research was carried out on behalf of three organisations, Japan Society of Breast Care, Japan Cancer Society and J.POSH.

The survey details are: the respondents were selected from goo Reseach Monitor Group’s female members, with 21,106 women successfully completing the web-based questionnaire. 1.0% were 19 years old or under, 8.5% were 20-24, 19.5% were 25-29, 26.3% were 30-34, 19.4% were 35-39, 13.3% were 40-44, 6.4% were 45-49, 3.0% were 50-54, 1.8% were 55-59, and just 0.8% were 60 or over. 66.7% were married, and 52.7% had given birth.

Q1: Are you concerned about breast cancer? (Sample size=21,106)

	Very concerned	Somewhat concerned	Neither concerned nor unconcerned	Not very concerned	Not at all concerned
All	30.0%	54.5%	11.5%	3.6%	0.4%
Up to 19 y.o.	16.5%	46.6%	22.8%	11.7%	2.4%
20-24 y.o.	23.0%	53.5%	15.2%	7.5%	0.8%
25-29 y.o.	28.6%	55.4%	11.7%	3.9%	0.3%
30-34 y.o.	30.6%	55.7%	10.8%	2.6%	0.3%
35-39 y.o.	31.1%	54.9%	10.4%	3.2%	0.4%
40-44 y.o.	32.0%	54.3%	10.5%	3.0%	0.2%
45-49 y.o.	31.6%	53.7%	12.7%	1.8%	0.5%
50-54 y.o.	33.3%	48.4%	12.7%	4.7%	0.8%
55-59 y.o.	37.2%	48.4%	9.4%	4.7%	0.3%
Over 60 y.o.	32.3%	49.4%	14.0%	4.3%	0.0%

Q2: Where do you get your information about breast cancer? (Sample size=21,106, multiple answer)

Mother	12.9%
Other family or relatives	6.1%
Friends and acquaintances	23.4%
Newspapers	29.3%
Books or magazines	41.0%
TV or radio	53.0%
Internet	45.2%
Local government information leaflet	13.0%
Doctor	15.6%
Medical check-up service organisation	23.3%
Workplace or school health service	3.6%
I’ve never had information about breast cancer	9.7%
Other	0.7%

Q3: Do you know the following information about breast cancer? (Sample size=21,106, multiple answer)

It’s rapidly increasing within Japanese women	48.0%
Over one in thirty Japanese women will get it	18.5%
Once past your late thirties, the chance of breast cancer drastically increases	47.4%
It’s the leading cause of death from cancer in women from 30 to 64 years old	15.1%
If discovered early, the chance of recovery is 95%	51.5%
If you have regular imaging checks, there is a good chance of discovering cancer	45.6%
It’s a disease you can detect yourself	60.2%
Mammography will discover abnormalities much earlier than touching examinations	55.3%
Don’t know any of the above	6.8%

Q4: If you found a lump or other abnormality on your breast, what sort of clinic do you think you would go to? (Sample size=21,106)

Gynecology clinic	51.9%
Obstetrics and gynaecology clinic	9.6%
Internal medicine clinic	3.7%
Surgical clinic	8.7%
Breast specialist	25.8%
Others	0.4%

Q5: Do you know about specialised breast clinics? (Sample size=21,106)

I know about them	26.6%
I’ve heard about them, but don’t know the details	25.2%
Not heard of them at all	48.2%

Q6: How frequently do you have general health check-ups? (Sample size=21,106)

Every six months	3.5%
Once a year	48.3%
Once every two years	6.9%
Less than once every three years	10.5%
Not had one for over five years	13.1%
Not had one for over ten years	7.2%
Never had one	9.8%
Don’t want to answer	0.8%

Q7: What sort of breast examinations have you had? (Sample size=19,799, multiple answer)

Self-examination	25.6%
Visual and touch examination	34.5%
Mammography	15.6%
Ultrasound	17.6%
Never had one	55.3%
Don’t want to answer	0.7%

Q8: How frequently have you had a uterine cancer test? (Sample size=21,106)

Every six months	2.3%
Once a year	25.5%
Once every two years	9.1%
Less than once every three years	9.0%
Not had one for over five years	6.0%
Not had one for over ten years	2.2%
Never had one	44.7%
Don’t want to answer	1.2%

Q9: What was your motivation for having a breast cancer examination? (Sample size=8,706, multiple answer)

It was recommended that I should	10.2%
I saw information about it in the media (roadshow, magazine, TV, etc)	8.2%
It was part of a workplace check	25.5%
It was part of a local government check	34.2%
I felt myself it was necessary	35.5%
Because a friend or acquaintance has breast cancer	6.5%
Because a family member or relative has breast cancer	6.5%
I was motivated by a breast disease other than cancer	3.6%
Other	9.1%

Q10: Why did you not take a breast cancer examination? (Sample size=12,264, multiple answer)

I’d not had lumps or other symptoms recently	62.6%
At my age, breast cancer is not an issue	12.3%
No-one around me is taking them	12.8%
Takes too long to do it	20.4%
Scared that cancer might be found	7.8%
Not part of the workplace or local government health checks	12.0%
Not had an opportunity to take it	43.9%
I don’t know where to get an examination	15.1%
Nowhere locally to get an examination	5.2%
It’s a delicate matter	13.6%
I’m not concerned about breast cancer	3.6%
Other	5.0%

Q11: In the area you live in, does the local government carry out breast cancer screening? (Sample size=21,106)

Carries out	53.4%
Doesn’t carry out	2.9%
Don’t know	43.7%

Q12: If answered “Carries out” to Q11, in the area you live in, what sort of breast cancer screening examination does the local government perform? (Sample size=11,274, multiple answer)

Visual and touch examination	75.6%
Mammography	40.0%
Ultrasound	18.8%
Other	14.5%

Q13: Which of the following topics do you want to learn about regarding breast cancer? (Sample size=21,106, multiple answer)

About the disease	50.9%
About hospitals that do screening	59.0%
Infomation about breast specialists	54.4%
About local government measures	40.9%
About disease prevention methods	59.1%
About treatment methods	53.5%
About after-effects	34.9%
About medicines	30.2%
About fees for treatment etc	53.4%
About communities and information exchanges	13.4%
About latest information	31.8%
No information I want	2.4%
Others	0.8%

A bit of a biggie again tonight. I’m surprised that there is no direct question about how often people have had breast cancer checks (is this deliberate as they don’t want to highlight a largish figure?), although I note with a bit of surprise that over a quarter have yearly scanning downstairs, which seems to be higher than I would have expected, especially in light of an article by Rebecca K Green I read on Japan Today reporting that only 3% of women have mammograms, yet here 15.6% say they have had mammograms, and even more have had ultrasound checks, although of course the same people could be getting both examinations.

There’s also the other issues that yearly breast cancer checks are, according to UK calculations, not cost-effective (although it’s a difficult thing to cost), and that testicular and prostate cancer get almost zero coverage, even though they can be just as deadly.