世論 What Japan Thinks

With the Olympics over for another four years and with Japan getting a reasonable haul of medals, Macromill performed a survey into post-Olympic views.

Demographics

Over the 25th and 26th of August 2008 516 members of the Macromill Monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was exactly 50:50 male and female in each age group; 24.8% were in their twenties, 25.2% in their thirties, 25.2% in their forties, and 24.8% in their fifties.

I didn’t watch much of the Olympics, but for me the most moving moments were Usian Bolt winning his two individual medals; celebrating the 100 metres win 10 metres before the finish line, then pulling out all the stops on the 200 metres to win by the proverbial mile.

Also, just today I read that Kosuke Kitajima, the double-double gold medal swimmer, was voted best beerist for knocking back a pint or two in celebration!
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With Coming of Age ceremonies being held mainly on the 14th of January this year, it is timely to look at a recent survey of these soon-to-be adults conducted by MacroMill Inc on the topic of new adults, specifically how they see their future.

Demographics

Over the 20th and 21st of December 2007 516 members of the Macromill monitors who will be attending a Coming of Age ceremony in 2008 completed a private online questionnaire. The sample was split 50:50 male and female, and of course all were either 19 or 20 years old.

Freeterism seems accetable in certain circumstances to a majority of people in Q7, which was a surprise to me. Freeter is the Japanese word mashed-up from freelance and arbeiter, which is from Arbeit, the German for part time work. It basically means casual labour, flitting between jobs as frequently as from day-to-day; working for a bit, taking time off for a bit.

In Q9, with just a slender majority happy to be able to drink might indicate a significant group of under-age drinkers, and as for smoking, I think it is safe to say that there must be a lot of kids who are already nicotine addicts!
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With Coming of Age ceremonies being held mainly on the 14th of January this year, it is timely to look at a recent survey of these soon-to-be adults conducted by MacroMill Inc on the topic of new adults, specifically how they see their future.

Demographics

Over the 20th and 21st of December 2007 516 members of the Macromill monitors who will be attending a Coming of Age ceremony in 2008 completed a private online questionnaire. The sample was split 50:50 male and female, and of course all were either 19 or 20 years old.

One thing that always puzzles and suprises a lot of foreigners about Coming of Age is that ceremonies are held in Disneyland, and many people target getting a photo taken with Mickey Mouse. One would think that becoming an adult would mean throwing away the trappings of youth, and one gets the feeling that they are not saying goodbye to Mickey et al, but see you later; now as wage earners, they can visit the mouse at home under their own steam.

Although many seem to be quite positive regarding their own future, the number seeing Japan in a positive light in Q3 is depressing, and that is an issue I’d love to see explored further some time. I wonder how much is due to pensions, given Q5, but since there seems a high degree of interest in politics and elections in Q6, do these new adults view it as something they cannot change?
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The stereotypical Christmas feast in Japan is a bucket of fried chicken from Colonel Claus with a strawberry sponge for afters, but what is the real situation? In particular, Christmas Eve is a holiday this year due to the Emporer’s birthday falling on a Sunday, so the day off has been moved forward a day to the 24th of December, and it is Christmas Eve that gets celebrated rather than Christmas Day. To find out what people’s plans were, Macromill Inc reported on a survey it conducted into Christmas 2007.

Demographics

Over the 5th and 6th of December 2007 516 members of Macromill’s online monitor group resident within either Tokyo or the three surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Saitama or Kanagawa successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The group was split exactly 50:50 male and female, and 24.8% were in thier twenties, 25.2% in their thirties, 25.3% in their forties, and 24.8% in their fifties.

Note that when asked how people plan to spend Christmas, as noted above this refers to Christmas Eve, by chance a public holiday this year, not Christmas Day, a normal workday this and every other year.

The other Japanese Christmas tradition is for couples to go on a date, often ending up with an overnight stay at a hotel, usually a posh one.
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With the Winter bonus season upon us (I get mine tomorrow!) here is a timely survey from MacroMill Inc on this very subject, the Winter 2007 bonus.

Demographics

Over the 14th and 15th of November 2007 1,032 members of the MacroMill internet monitor group employed in either the public or private sector successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 20.0% of the sample were in their twenties, 20.0% in their thirties, 20.0% in their forties, and 20.0% in their fifties. The sex ratio was not reported, however, although when JR Tokai Express Research use a similar sample base, over 80% are male. However, MacroMill tends to use a 50:50 split for their surveys, but this cannot be the case here as in Q4B, for instance, 534 men report getting a bonus, over half the sample size.

Half of my winter bonus has to go to paying my home loan, and the majority of the remained will end up replenishing funds in the bank to be spent on just normal living expenses, sadly. If I manage to get any discretionary spending, I think a DS and a Wii plus Wii Fit (saw it on the telly this morning - it looks great!) will be in order.
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[part 1][part 2]

With prices of many staples having risen or threatening to rise for the first time for a good number of years, Macromill Inc decided to investigate what the average consumer thought about instant ramen and other instant noodles.

Demographics

Over the 10th and 11th of October 2007 516 members of the Macromill Monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was split 50:50 male and female in each age group, with 25.0% in their twenties, 25.0% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties, and 25.0% in the fifties.

As there are no particularly good statistics to graph from this half of the survey, instead here’s a video of the Nissen Cup Noodle advertisements, done in an anime style with music by Hikari Utada:

The web site of the series of adverts can be found here at FREEDOM PROJECT.
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[part 1][part 2]

With prices of many staples having risen or threatening to rise for the first time for a good number of years, Macromill Inc decided to investigate what the average consumer thought about instant ramen and other instant noodles.

Demographics

Over the 10th and 11th of October 2007 516 members of the Macromill Monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was split 50:50 male and female in each age group, with 25.0% in their twenties, 25.0% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties, and 25.0% in the fifties.

I think I’ve only ever once or twice eaten instant noodles in Japan; most of them are loaded with prawns, beef, salt and MSG, so I stay well clear of them! Looking at Q1, the one type I do recall eating was some sort of low calorie concoction that doesn’t feature on the list. However, it seems that most families do use them regularly, and always hold a few in stock for emergencies or days when they just can’t be bothered cooking.

If you want to find out how Cup Noodles are made, you can visit the Momofuku Ando Museum situated in Ikeda near Osaka and even make your own personalised unique ramen!
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[part 1][part 2]

We’ve looked before at handsomeness, but this time Macromill Inc looked at the slightly more specific topic of men’s grooming. This report is rather detailed, so apologies in advance!

Demographics

Between the 25th and 27th of September 2007 515 male members of the Macromill Monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. Exactly 20% were aged between 15 and 19, 20% in their twenties, 20% in their thirties, 20% in their forties, and 20% in their fifties. In addition, 282 people, or 54.8%, were not married.

It does seem interesting that almost a third are concerned about sweat-related issues, although there is no follow-on question regarding what people try to do to counter this. However, Q1 in the first half of the survey indicated just under a quarter purchase deodorant, so one does wonder why the extra 5% or more don’t use it.
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[part 1][part 2]

We’ve looked before at handsomeness, but this time Macromill Inc looked at the slightly more specific topic of men’s grooming. This report is rather detailed, so apologies in advance!

Demographics

Between the 25th and 27th of September 2007 515 male members of the Macromill Monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. Exactly 20% were aged between 15 and 19, 20% in their twenties, 20% in their thirties, 20% in their forties, and 20% in their fifties. In addition, 282 people, or 54.8%, were not married.

I find Q1 a bit difficult to understand, especially for basics like shampoo. I find it difficult to believe that 20% don’t wash their hair, but perhaps it is a differentiation between just cheap no-brand no-particular-effect shampoo versus a name brand. Conversely, does only 53.7% using face soap mean the rest just splash with water, or use hand soap, or don’t have a separate hand soap and face soap? Finally, just over half using rinse is surprisingly high to me.
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One way of making Japan a cheaper country to live it is to make sure you participate in as many point cards and other loyalty schemes as possible, as many shops and restaurants offer some degree of discounts (often from 3% to 10% or more) if you sign up to their schemes. Of course, one drawback is that you end up with a bulging wallet and time-consuming scrambles looking for the correct card. Recently, Macromill Inc reported on a survey they conducted on this topic, point cards.

Demographics

Over the 13th and 14th of July 2007 516 members of the Macromill Monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was split exactly 50:50 male and female in each age group, and similarly there were 25.0% in their twenties, 25.0% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties and 25.0% in their fifties.

Note that in this survey questions Q1 and Q2, point cards include stamp cards, airline mileage cards, and other loyalty point-based systems, but exclude credit card points, which are investingated in Qs 5 to 7. However, some of the newer combined credit card and railway pass cards have schemes where you get bonus points for spending money in the railway line’s department store or other group companies, so I don’t know whether these point schemes are counted or not.

With some of the big electrical chains who have point systems offering from 10% to 20% depending on purchases, it can be definitely argued that their prices are artificially higher to fund this system, and with comparison shopping it is possible to save more money. However, in Osaka the choice for me is bascially either the huge Yodobashi Camera right beside the main station or perhaps saving 5% to 10% if I head down to Den-Den Town, taking 10 minutes in the subway then 15 minutes by foot, fighting my way through the crowds, then hoping the store still has the product in stock, takes credit cards, doesn’t have a prohibitive delivery cost, etc.
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