世論 What Japan Thinks

There was a bit of an overdose last month amongst foreigner blogs on Pepsi Shiso, but this recnt survey from MyVoice looking at carbonated soft drinks found that just 5% of the fizzy drink drinkers had tried it.

Demographics

Over the first five days of July 2009 14,904 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 13% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

I’m a fizzy drink fan, with my favourite being Coca Cola Zero. The sweetener here is different from the one used in the USA, as I find US Diet Coke pretty poor.

For reference, I translated a Coke versus Pepsi survey last year.
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MyVoice recently took their fifth look at shampoo usage. I’m sure I’d translated an earlier version of this survey, but Google says otherwise!

Demographics

Over the first five days of June 2009 14,982 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

My choice of shampoo and conditioner is Umi no Uruoi Sou, a blend of lots of different kinds of seaweed, apparently. I got into the habit of using it as for about two years a local drugstore sold the refills at 99 yen each, which was nice. When I’m not using that, I’m using mini shampoo bottles brought back as trophies from hotels I have stayed in.
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I’ve never eaten a convenience store bento (boxed lunch) as I am yet to see a vegetarian offering; the best I did when I was single was a Lawson’s tomato pasta, which was particularly disgusting. However, that doesn’t seem to bother many people in this survey from MyVoice into convenience store boxed lunches.

Demographics

Over the first five days of June 2009 15,023 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

The actual title of this survey, and coincidentally the name of a sadly deceased (the blog, not the blogger!) gaijin blogger’s blog, is the commonly used abbreviation, conbini bento.
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First, an apology for What Japan Thinks being down again earlier today. I’ve got something strange going on at my host.

Now, on to the survey; MyVoice took a look at email newsletter usage.

Demographics

Over the first five days of June 2009 14,939 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

I am probably signed up to about ten or so newsletters, but most of them I don’t look at. About the only one I really do pay attention to is from Flying Blue (KLM and Air France mileage card) as they quite often have decent promotional offers. My wife also forwards the Mister Donuts mail to me which usually has nice discount coupons.
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I do like the word faffing, but a more literal and correct translation of the title of this survey from MyVoice would be filling free time with mobile content.

Demographics

Over the first five days of June 2009 exactly 15,000 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

I save up all my faffing about for the PC internet; the only mobile internet I use is the very occasional dictionary and the even more occasional downloading of deco-mail artwork.

I must apologise for Q6, as it’s a horribly convoluted question, but I hope it makes sense!
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If I’d translated this one yesterday I could have been all nice and happy and bright, but since it’s today, you’ll have to accept my translation of MyVoice’s look at stress – their third look, and I translated their second stress survey here – being done under pressure.

Demographics

Over the first five days of June 2009 14,878 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

Ahh, work decided today to change the information security rules; it’s not quite RFID tagging everything and setting up automated machine-gun nests at the exits to discipline offenders, but it’s getting there. The main cause of concern seems to be memory cards getting lost; the sensible measure would be to turn on an option in the system management software that everyone has that automatically encrypts all writes to memory cards, but instead we just get excessively-strict tracking of cards, which ignores the fact that the losses happened due to people ignoring the simpler rules. They are also suggesting that there might be a new rule that effectively makes taking a mobile phone or audio player to work impractical. Idiots.

Then on the way out of the office, one guy stopped walking right in front of me just outside the gate, I moved round and almost got run over by a cyclist, then the communist party were making a racket outside the station. I swore at the guy who tried to give me a leaflet, which did make me feel a little better.
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Given that the interest rates on saving in Japan are laughably miniscule, I am surprised by the results of this survey from MyVoice into the usage of foreign currency savings (the sixth time the survey has been conducted) showing that about as many people are profiting (or not as the case may be) from exchange rate movements as from superior interest rates.

Demographics

Over the first five days of May 2009 14,952 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 34% in their thirties, 31% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

I’ve got a bit of foreign savings (as I’m sure all my resident foreigner readers do!), but given the recent collapse in the UK pound exchange rate and in UK interest rates it’s not doing terribly well, to say the least! I’m not interested in active trading, however.
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This survey from MyVoice into corporate sports looked at the issue of companies funding their own teams that, on the whole, compete in corporate leagues filled with lots of other company-funded teams.

Demographics

Over the first five days of May 2009 14,884 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 34% in their thirties, 31% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

There’s a lot of corporate teams in Japan where the sportspeople are employed full-time by the company to be representatives, although the current harsh economic times has seen the death of the amuzingly-named Seibu Prince Rabbits.

My employer also has such teams, with basketball being the main sport that I can think of.
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The “Japanese” in the title refers to the people answering the questionnaire, not the make of the computers as a few foreign names found their way into this survey from MyVoice into computer maker brand image.

Demographics

Over the first five days of May 2009 14,915 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were male, 1% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 35% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 30% aged fifty or older.

It’s no surprise to me in Q5 that Apple came top, as a previous survey into design found Apple was way out in the lead.

For Q7, another survey earlier found that UMPC was actually better-known than Netbook, but here we see an almost four to one ratio of Netbook to UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC).
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Although recently I’ve translated a number of surveys that promised more than they delivered, this time I feel this one, the fourth survey by MyVoice into blogging has a number of interesting revelations.

Demographics

Over the first five days of May 2009 14,823 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 35% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

In Q4, it’s interesting that politics isn’t a selectable theme, but given that just 5% blogged about news in general, I wonder how small that would have been.

Regarding Q5, in Japan they are called blog parts, but in the West they are usually widgets or scriptlets. Looking through the above-linked web site I came across this entertaining one:

For Q6, I’ve been to a cake-related blogger event! I’ve also sadly had to turn down two invites to Danny Choo-organised and corporately-sponsored Tokyo CGM Night, although I did see his Dad’s shoe shop right beside the free cake venue, if that counts for anything.

For Q7, I’d have to immodestly answer “somewhere to use my knowledge, information to contribute to society”, although I do have a letting off steam blog hiding in the shadows… What is blogging to you?
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