世論 What Japan Thinks

Here’s a fun little ranking survey from DIMSDRIVE Research: as part of their 117th Ranking Survey they asked members of their monitor group what they did when by themselves in a lift (or elevator).

Demographics

Between the 9th and 17th of May 2007 7,735 members of their monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 44.3% of the sample was male.

I can guess what you’re thinking is one of the things the Japanese do, and yes, they do admit to doing that! The women are not as frequent as the men, despite a suspicion I had that perhaps they saved them up from when they were at home.
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goo Ranking recently published, as selected by goo Research’s monitor pool over the 19th and 20th of April 2007, Japan’s most curiously-named stations.

Some of the names are amusing, others are strange, and a few more I just don’t get! Any help would be more than welcome.

Note that the number one choice is Japan’s longest station name. This title used to be held by 「ルイス・C.ティファニー庭園美術館前駅」, “Louis C Tiffany Garden Museum Mae Station”, but the museum closed down and the station was renamed to the slightly shorter 「松江イングリッシュガーデン前駅」, “Matsue English Garden Mae Station”, apparently on the 21st of May 2007. Note that at the time of writing, Wikipedia wrongly reports this as the longest Japanese station name in a link from their Louis C Tiffany page.

To help you locate the places, I’ve made a custom Google Map for all these stations.
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goo Ranking recently published another rather entertaining survey, this time on where people would least like to go on a first date to, with both male and female versions published.

As usual for goo Ranking, there is no demographic information available about the sample size, only that the votes were gathered between the 19th and 20th of April from members of the goo Research monitor group. The top voted location was awarded 100 points, and the others awarded a score representing the relative percentage of votes they got.
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At the weekend トリビアの泉, Trivia no Izumi, Fount of Trivia looked at that most vital of questions, what is cuteness. They gathered together five top researchers in the field who spent seven hours designing the ultimate in cuteness. This character was passed on to the chief Hello Kitty designer for final touch up and presentation to the world.

But before we get to that, they also surveyed the public to find out what they thought Japan’s cutest character was.
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I now present yet another slightly odd goo Ranking, this time on what people do when they feel drowsy behind the wheel. As usual, there is no demographic information. The survey was conducted between the 20th and 22nd of March 2007.

Note that there is perhaps some scope for overlap in the answers. For instance, the top option is chewing gum and the fourth is taking caffeine. However, there is at least one brand of gum that contains caffeine, and in fact is advertised on television as a pick-me-up when feeling tired whilst driving.
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As part of their 113th Ranking Research, DIMSDRIVE Research looked at what people’s little luxuries were.

Demographics

Between the 14th and 22nd of March 5,537 members of their online community successfully completed a private internet-based survey. 45.0% of the sample was male.

It’s interesting to note that seven out of the ten directly involve eating, and one could argue that taking a trip to an onsen is as much for the food as the bath. By the way, I don’t know why “eating out” and “eating at a restaurant” are listed separately, although I suspect if they grouped together all the eating options there might not be many other answers left!
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With the recent negative news breaking regarding TOTO toilets going up in smoke, let’s look at the more positive side of Japanese toilets through a survey published by goo Rankings on what function or service people are most happy to find in public restrooms. The survey was conducted between the 22nd and 24th of February 2007, but no more demographic information is available, although looking at the results it is perhaps a mainly female audience who completed the survey. Note that the score column has 100 points for the top vote getter, and for the other entries the score is the percentage of the top’s vote total that that entry received.

The first time I experienced the top ranking warm toilet seat it was a strangely disconcerting feeling, as to that point warmth was associated with someone else having recently used said loo, but now I love the feature, and my toilet at home also has a cloth cover for even more soothing comfort on the chilly nights.

Number four, also known in Japanese by the brand name “Oto Hime”, or “Sound Princess“, plays a wee tune to cover up the plops and splashes as one does one’s business. I saw my first only two weekends ago in a small cafè; I really wanted to press the button, but we were the only customers and the owner is a friend of my wife’s family, so I just couldn’t.
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Just today goo Rankings published a new survey, this time looking at what people would be happy about if it were invented within the next 10 years.As usual for goo Rankings, there is no demographic information, just that the fieldwork was conducted between the 22nd and 24th of February this year. In addition, on a similar theme they also asked what people would like to do within the next ten years.

In Q1, I’m very surprised the perhaps more mundane cure for cancer didn’t feature, although I’m not disappointed to see the clichéd flying car making an appearance at number 6. Also, I guess Asimov doesn’t count as a humanoid robot as perhaps people want to see an autonomous android-like device. I’m not really sure what number 10 is, however: perhaps it means you can walk on the ceiling too?

In Q2, the second place mastering one’s hobby does seem rather odd to me.
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Just as a bit of fun, here’s a pair of silly surveys from goo Ranking, one from women and one from men on what’s the biggest turn-offs when being invited back for coffee. The fieldwork was conducted over three days in the middle of January, but no further demographic information is available.

Note that due to differences in social mores, and of course the ready availability of alternatives, visiting one’s girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s flat comes much later in a relationship than compared to the West, I believe.

Number 14 for women, not putting eggs in the fridge, seems rather out of place! It’s also interesting to see how what women look for in a man’s home differs from what men look for in a woman’s place.
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With today being official Day of the Cat – 22nd of the 2nd month, pronounced, with a suitable cat accent, にゃん・にゃん・にゃん, nyan, nyan, nyan, the Japanese for “Meow, meow, meow”, let’s look at a recent goo Ranking into cats’ cute actions. The survey was conducted between the 18th and 20th of January.

I’m disappointed that purring comes in a miserable 8th, and sleeping in laps is nowhere.
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