世論 What Japan Thinks

Strategies for coping with stress, and mental health care in general, are sadly lacking in Japan. This recent survey from goo Research, conducted in association with All About Japan, into lifestyle, concentrating in particular on work and stress therein, highlights a few of these issues.

Demographics

Between the 28th of April and the 1st of May 2008 1,057 members of the goo Research online monitor panel aged between 20 and 49 and currently in employement completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.1% of the sample was male, 33.5% in their twenties, 33.8% in their thirties, and 32.7% in their forties.

Notice that in Q10, for means of managing stress, men are much less likely to do anything about it bar exercise, and four times as likely to do nothing at all.

I can get my commute to work in just under an hour, although the return usually takes one hour and ten minutes as I need to wait for one connection and sometimes choose the local train due to the ease of getting a seat.
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I’m sure many other people like to grab a bit of chocolate as comfort food to cope with the stresses of daily life, and this survey from MyVoice into mood-changing and sweets showed that the Japanese are no different!

Demographics

Over the first five days of March 14,773 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54% were female, 1% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 38% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 17% in their fifties.

I rate pretty highly on the stress scale, and I do eat perhaps too much chocolate, especially at work to get me through the afternoon I snack on Petit Bit chocolate, with kinako (soya bean flour) flavour being my favourite at the moment.
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Ahh, stress in Japan, I could write a book on it, but look, I’ve just got far too many things on my plate piling up already and I just can’t take my attention away from them and will you stop asking me to write more on it as I am planning on getting round to it but it’s rather difficult finding the time and I love my family more than my blogging; is that a crime? as you seem to be suggesting but then MyVoice published the results of a survey on stress.

Demographics

Over the first five days of July 2007 13,030 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54% of the sample was male, 2% in their teens, 18% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 27% in their forties, and 14% aged fifty or older.

One cold shower and two cold beers later: stress, and its darker cousin depression, is a serious problem in Japan, I feel, but not one that is very well understood. For example, a health-related magazine I read had a wee depression comic strip: guy transfers to a new devision as a team leader, gets under pressure and tries to live up to unreasonable expectations, working all hours, getting irritated and other classic symptoms. He goes to to talk to his old boss (over reasonable quantities of sake, of course) who tells him to not be so diligent and learn to delegate. And they all lived happily ever after. Ooh, and don’t get me started on reading advice from someone who should know better that ciggies and booze can relieve some stress.

I also wonder how much stress affects men in the trouser department, an unasked question below, as I suspect working on stress reduction (and fatigue reduction too) by for instance rationalising working hours could have a noticeable positive effect on the birth rate. Of course, I realise that changing the current working system is effectively impossible, but we have to have our dreams.
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Following Giganews picking up my emoticons translation, from the same article I learnt about a survey conducted by Nagase Beauty Care into the matter of working women and stress. The survey was conducted on the 16th and 17th of January by means of an internet-based questionnaire.

Demographics

500 women from all over the country working in public companies were interviewed, with 125 in their twenties, 125 in their thirties, 125 in their forties, and 125 in their fifties.

Not being a woman, I obviously cannot add my own opinions here!
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