世論 What Japan Thinks

This will be the last survey of this year, from goo Ranking and looking at what enjoyable but time-consuming task people want to do.

Demographics

The survey was conducted during the 31st of October and the 1st of November 2013, and 1,060 people completed a private web-based questionnaire. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

Happy New Year of the Horse to all my readers! Above is a typical scene from the Japanese concept of First Footing, a midnight visit to a temple.
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Just in time for the New Year, and perhaps as an alert to my male readers on how to avoid getting into their wife’s bad books, goo Ranking published a list of dissatisfactions with one’s husband that causes arguments to break out over New Year.

Demographics

The survey was conducted during the 31st of October and the 1st of November 2013, and 1,060 people completed a private web-based questionnaire. 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 would guess that only married women answered the survey, although the wording of the Japanese answers suggests that unmarried women could imagine which answers might apply to them in the future or to other couples, or even their parents.

This rather unappetising-looking fish is actually rather auspicious; me failing to avoid turning up my nose at some of the traditional Japanese New Year offering is perhaps the most common reason previously for arguments!

So far this year end I don’t think I’ve committed any of these flaws, although I am currently skating on thin ice regarding my procrastination of tidying up the garden!
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No, that’s not a comment on this blog’s contents (I hope), but instead the theme of a goo Ranking survey into when one feels it tedious spending the New Year holiday at the family home.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 7th of November 2012 1,049 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 58.8% of the sample were female, 10.2% in their teens, 14.6% in their twenties, 27.5% in their thirties, 25.1% in their forties, 11.0% in their fifties, and 11.7% 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.

Here’s what I find tedious about Japanese New Year, standing in queues like these for shrines and temples.

Living so far away from home and having few opportunities to visit, there is little I feel is tedious regarding spending the Christmas and New Year holiday there, especially as my parents tend to spoil me, so I can lie in as long as I like but there is always food waiting, washing gets done without my intervention, etc. Perhaps only number 15 gets tedious.

On the other hand, regarding number 13 there was something my father said about 13 Christmases ago that I think I remember as being tedious at the time, but it kicked off a chain of events that resulted in me getting married. And I still haven’t forgiven the bugger yet. (No no, darling, that was a joke!)
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With the last posting day before New Year getting ever closer, this survey from goo Research, reported on by japan.internet.com, into New Year postcards is a reminder to us all to get ours finished.

Demographics

Between the 29th of November and the 1st of December 2011 1,083 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.9% of the sample were male, 16.5% in their teens, 18.3% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 15.7% in their fifties, and 11.9% aged sixty or older.

I haven’t actually got round to even ordering my New Year postcards yet, and as I’ve been at our work Christmas end of year party tonight I’m in no fit state, so that’s another day closer to the deadline… Note, I’ve prepared this post ahead of time, so any mistakes are just the usual me, not the beer’s fault!
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Despite the New Year having already gone – Happy New Year to all my readers – let’s do a post on a survey from goo Ranking looking at when people feel the New Year is approaching.

Demographics

Between the 19th and 22nd of November 2010 1,171 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.2% of the sample were female, 11.3% in their teens, 19.1% in their twenties, 29.0% in their thirties, 23.4% in their forties, 9.6% in their fifties, and 7.6% 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.

To liven up today’s survey, I’ll embed a few pictures and videos of the events. I feel it getting near when it comes time to prepare New Year postcards, which we usually start around the end of November.
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A happy New Year to you all, with a look at what is the busiest profession over the New Year, a survey from goo Ranking, of course.

Demographics

Between the 19th and 22nd of November 2010 1,171 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.2% of the sample were female, 11.3% in their teens, 19.1% in their twenties, 29.0% in their thirties, 23.4% in their forties, 9.6% in their fifties, and 7.6% 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 say 17=, a reporter, is the easiest job over the New Year – if it’s hard news, they can start writing year-end wrap-ups ahead of times; if it’s the latest news, on television at least 90% of it is interviews with people leaving or coming back at airports, bullet train stations, etc, reports of enormous car jams at all the usual motorway locations, and a few bits of stock footage of preparations or the aftermath of New Year at the popular temples. I’m sure they could even run last year’s columns and nobody would notice!

All photos from flickr – click on them to see them in full detail – apologies for some not being terribly seasonal, but it was hard enough to find the right subjects, let alone the locations.
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Although it’s not my holidays until next Wednesday, many of my readers seem to have already gone on holiday, so I’ll be cutting down my posting frequency, working on other projects (there’s two Facebook things I must do) and posting more goo Ranking nonsense for the next two weeks.

The winners of the 2010 New Year Postcard lottery for the Year of the Tiger have been announced, and the winning numbers and prizes are as follows. The number to check is the six digit number at the bottom right of the card. Note that some cards do not actually have numbers, which means they are not eligible…

First prize: 975424

Choose any one from a 32 inch Sharp Aquos LCD televison, a JTB holiday, either three nights in Hawaii or Hong Kong, 2 nights in Korea, or one night in one of 58 domestic hot springs resorts, Toshiba dynabook EX notebook plus Casio EXILIM EX-Z450GD digital camera plus Canon PIXUS MP560 printer, Canon iVIS HF21 video camera, or 200,000 yen’s worth of office furniture from an ASKUL catalogue.

Second prize: 630838, 446722, or 259668

Choose any one from a Nintendo Wii plus Wii Sports Resort, Canon XY DIGITAL 220 IS digital camera, Toshia portable DVD player SD-P73DTW, Sharp Plamsa Cluster air purifier KC-Y45-W, or 30 kilogrammes of rice.

Third prize: last four digits 0977

Choose any one food item from 38 different ones on offer, from a tea blend for the Imperial Hotel to canned crab soup.

Fourth prize: last two digits 52 or 00

Otoshidama stamp set – a fifty yen and an eighty yen stamp, pictured above.

C Gumi Special prize: 27520

50,000 yen’s worth of JTB holiday vouchers. The “C Gumi” is apparently something to do with carbon offest New Year Postcards.

If you have matched any of these, go to your nearest post office before the 26th of July 2010 and either collect the stamps while you wait, or apply for any of the bigger prizes. The full prize line-up can be seen here. I’ve just checked mine and I’ve won two sheets of the stamps above.

It’s getting to that time of year when we need to getting our New Year greetings prepared; this recent survey from Macromill Inc on this topic looked at not just the traditional postcards, but also electronic greetings.

Demographics

Between the 20th and 24th of November 2009 500 members of the Macromill monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was exactly 50:50 male and female, although not quite 50:50 throughout each age band. 7.2% were in their teens (between 15 and 19 years old), 17.2% in their twenties, 20.2% in their thirties, 17.2% in their forties, 20.8% in their fifties, and 17.4% in their sixties.

It’s probably just my stinginess, but I’m extremely surprised that in Q1SQ3 there was no answer about “because it’s free” as the reason for sending electronic greetings!

Oh, and my New Year postcards got delivered today. My wife went a bit crazy ordering the cards, so we have Rilakkuma, two styles of Pooh, and Hello Kitty designs…
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The numbers were announced a few days ago, but I don’t know if anyone’s got round to posting them yet in English, so here goes:

The winners of the 2009 New Year Postcard lottery for the Year of the Ox have been announced, and the winning numbers and prizes are as follows. The number to check is the six digit number at the bottom right of the card. Note that some cards do not actually have numbers…

First prize: 345898

Choose any one from a 32 inch Hi-Vision Sharp AQUOS LCD television with Blu-ray recorder, a Panasonic massage chair, a JTB one-night stay voucher at a high-class inn or hotel, a Toshiba pressure cooker rice cooker and high-quality rice, a Canon digital SLR EOS Digital with PIXUS printer and tripod, or a selection of office furniture from Askul. There are 4,155 winning cards.

Second prize: 663829, 908796, or 028962

Choose any one from a Nintendo Wii plus Wii Fit, Omron Karada Scan body monitoring scales with PC link, Casio EX-word electronic dictionary, Canon IXY Digital compact camera, JTB day trip to a hot springs plus meal, or DeLonghi Coffee and Espresso Maker. There are 12,465 winning cards.

Third prize: last four digits 5070

Choose any one from Asakua Nakamuraya rice crackers, Ginza West dry cake, Imperial Hotel baked cake set, Asakusa La Pomme fruit crystal jelly, Dalloyau Four-Secs Demi-Secs cakes, Nakata Foods Kii pickled plums, Asakusa Imahan boiled beef selection, Nissui shark fin and crab canned soup, Hotel New Otani soup set, Shizuoka Green Tea Centre 100 tea bag set, Twinning quality tea bag collection, or Brooke’s 105 coffee filter set. There are 415,420 winning cards.

Fourth prize: last two digits 94 or 46

Otoshidama stamp set – a fifty yen and an eighty yen stamp, pictured above. There are 83,083,880 winning cards.

C Gumi Special prize: 882347 or 223109

Choose any one from Panasonic kitchen rubbish compactor, Bridgestone folding bicycle, or Coleman’s camping set. The “C Gumi” is apparently something to do with carbon offest New Year Postcards.

If you have matched any of these, go to your nearest post office before the 27th of July 2009 and either collect the stamps while you wait, or apply for any of the bigger prizes. The full prize line-up can be seen here. I haven’t checked my cards yet, but how did you get on?

But wait…

As a separate promotion, Megane Ichiba is offering their own lottery for money off a pair of specs. Top prize is for 018900, 5 yen for a pair of glasses up to the value of 18,900 yen. The last five digits of 39189 gives you 10,000 yen off, the last four digits of 0801 gives you 5,000 yen off, last two digits of 33 or 77 gives you 1,500 yen off, and a last digit of 2, 5, 6, or 8 gives you 1,000 yen off! Only one card per pair of glasses, though, may be used.