ONLINE SURVEY:
Businesspeople's Take on the News
September 19, 2001
Just how does Japan's business community view current events? Trends In Japan conducted an online survey of 100 businesspeople (50 men and 50 women), mainly in their thirties, over a three-day period beginning July 31. Participants were asked which of 18 news stories from June to July 2001 had left the greatest impression on them. The top pick was the July House of Councillors election, chosen by 22% of the respondents. The popularity of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was once again evident as three of the top five stories involved the prime minister. The growing importance of electronic media could also be seen, as many participants indicated that they get some news from the Web.
Politics a Popular Choice
Respondents were given a list of 18 news stories that concerned politics, the economy, society, and international affairs and were asked to choose which one had left the strongest impression on them from June to July in 2001 [see table]. The upper house election, in which the ruling coalition captured a majority of seats, was chosen by 22% of respondents, making it the number-one answer. The fact that the Liberal Democratic Party emerged victorious from the July 29 election means Prime Minister Koizumi attained support from the public for his pledge to enact "structural reforms leaving no sacred areas exempt."
Explaining why he designated the election the most noteworthy event of the two-month period, a 32-year-old software developer expressed a common thought: "This election laid a key foundation for reform." His thoughts were echoed by others who felt that reforms will be driven forward by Koizumi's popularity and the LDP victory. Others voiced uncertainty about the future, though. A 42-year-old accountant in the service industry explained her concerns, writing: "I am worried about what kind of pain the reforms will bring in the future."
The second-most widely-cited story, chosen by 18% of respondents, was the approval rating of the Koizumi cabinet, which has ranged between 72% and 84.5%. This could indicate a high degree of interest among respondents in seeing where the approval ratings, which were unusually high when the cabinet was first formed, will head in the future. Many of those surveyed took the recent decline in the approval ratings in stride. A 41-year-old male semiconductor researcher commented, "Koizumi has just lost the support of people who were under the misimpression that reforms would be implemented and Japan would change in a short period of time."
The news that baseball player Ichiro Suzuki garnered the most votes for the Major League All-Star Game in the United States was the third-most popular story, selected by 12% of respondents. A 29-year-old agency temp offered his opinion, saying, "In a word, what he did was great." Quite a few others expressed national pride with such comments as "I was happy to see a Japanese become the most popular choice," and "Japanese baseball has been accepted by Americans."
Eye on the Economy
The launch of Prime Minister Koizumi's electronic newsletter was chosen by 8% of respondents, tying for fourth place with the weakening of business confidence in Japan. Koizumi's "mail magazine," which is sent free to subscribers via email, contains messages from the prime minister and other members of the cabinet. Over 1 million people registered to receive it on June 14, the day of its launch, marking it as an instant hit. Opinion about the newsletter was divided, however. While a 24-year-old female office worker noted that "this may be an opportunity for young people to develop an interest in politics," a 25-year-old man working in the food service industry criticized it as "just a lot of talk without any specifics."
The Bank of Japan's June tankan quarterly report on business sentiment confirmed that "business sentiment in the corporate sector at present has further declined." This impression was felt personally by all the survey respondents who selected this story. A 24-year-old male network administrator stated, "I strongly identified with this. I did not get any raise in pay this year." A 33-year-old woman working in the service industry said, "this has an impact on everyday life," indicating that economic problems are felt closely by many.
Tied for sixth place with 6% were the opening of the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka and the new post-bubble low reached by the stock market. "Other" was chosen by 5% of respondents, earning eighth place. Coming in ninth were the agreement on the basic rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement on reducing global warming drafted at a conference held in Kyoto in 1997, and Prime Minister Koizumi's summits with American, British, and French leaders. Both of these stories were selected by 3% of respondents. Three stories tied for eleventh place with 2% each: the performance of Japanese athletes at the 2001 World Judo Championship, a tie-up between Toyota Motor Corp. and French automaker Peugeot, and the first rise in sales in five years for Tokyo department stores. Three stories shared fourteenth place with 1% each: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's trip to Russia, Megawati's ascension to the presidency in Indonesia, and the adoption of a statement at the summit of leading industrialized nations in Genoa, Italy.
Electronic Media On the Rise
Respondents were also asked how they normally obtain news and information [see chart]. Television was the top choice, named by 59% of pollees. Newspapers were the second most popular choice with 24%, and the World Wide Web came in third with 12%. When asked what tool they use when they are actively searching for news, 42% of respondents named the Web, as compared with 32% for TV and 23% for newspapers. As for their means of obtaining international news, 64% of respondents rely on TV and 24% surf the Web.
When asked "Why do you follow the news?" 34% answered, "to get important information that will help me in my job." The second most popular answer, given by 31%, was "for my own interest." Answers like "because I have free time" and "to check up on business partners and clients" were given by 21% of pollees.
The survey also posed the question, "What do you do on the train while you are commuting to and from work?" The number-one answer was "read a book," chosen by 33% of respondents. "Sleep" took the number-two spot with 20%. "Listen to music," "read the newspaper," and "other" were each chosen by 8%. "Send and receive email via cellular phone" was named by 4% of pollees. "Read a sports newspaper" and "surf the Web on my cellular phone" were each named by 2% of respondents. "Listen to the radio" was chosen by 1%.
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Looking at how women and men answered the questions in the survey, there was little difference in their methods of obtaining news, their reasons for doing so, or what they do on commuter trains. Regarding the news stories that left the greatest impression on them, however, one slight difference stood out. Women were more sensitive to economic news than men.
For example, worsening business sentiment was named by 6% of male respondents, making it the fifth most often-cited story among men. The post-bubble low reached by the stock market came in fourteenth, selected by only 2% of men. But each of these stories were chosen by 10% of women, sharing third place among all the stories. While the first rise in sales in five years for Tokyo department stores was not selected at all by men, it came in ninth among women as 4% of them named it as the story that left the greatest impression on them. The high level of awareness among women of economic issues as a part of everyday life was evident in some of the comments made regarding these stories. A 31-year-old office worker in the financial sector noted, "It affects my bonus as well." A 30-year-old systems engineer said: "The stock market reflects the feelings of consumers, so of course I feel some concern about the future."
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Copyright (c) 2001 Japan Information Network. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government. |
