And, finally, the fundamentals are good and trending up ...
Nielsen//NetRatings Releases First Japan Net Usage Survey
By William Auckerman
Japan Correspondent, asia.internet.com
[February 15, 2000--TOKYO] At the end of 1999, Japan had an Internet market of over 15 million active users, far outstripping all other Internet economies of the Asia-Pacific region.
This was the finding of the first Nielsen//NetRatings survey of Japanese Internet usage, conducted jointly by ACNielsen Japan and NetRatings Japan.
The survey also found that the Japanese Internet market is underpinned by a strong 13 percent household penetration rate.
According to Nielsen//NetRatings, this puts Japan on a par with Taiwan (14 percent penetration rate) and Hong Kong (16 percent), though still far behind Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore (nearly 30 percent).
With 15.38 million users, however, the Japanese Internet market is 70 percent larger than the combined markets of these five leading Asia-Pacific economies (about 9 million in total).
The survey, conducted in November and December 1999, was based on phone interviews with 54,627 households selected by random digit dialing (from about 346,200 calls made to phones nationwide in cities and towns of 10,000 or more inhabitants).
"Businesses and advertisers, here and elsewhere, have always wanted to get a clear picture of the Internet user market in Japan," said Tatsuzo Uewaki, an executive director of ACNielsen Japan.
"We now have it," Uewaki declared of the Nielsen//NetRatings survey results, adding that "the numbers position Japan comfortably among the leading Internet economies."
The survey found that of the 32 percent of the households who own a personal computer, about 45 percent - or 13 percent of all households - have Internet access.
Meanwhile, about 4 percent of households reported owning an Internet-capable cellular phone.
One-third (33 percent) of the survey respondents said they access the Internet both from home and from outside (such as at work or school) within the previous month. Almost one-quarter (23 percent) said they get online only from home, while 44 percent said they access the Net only from outside the home.
Consistent with regional trends, the survey found that males dominate Japan's Internet audience, accounting for 63 percent of users.
The gender gap is most pronounced among those who access the Internet both from home and from outside (73 percent male, 27 percent female).
Uewaki said this survey was the first step by ACNielsen and NetRatings to present accurate and reliable data on Internet usage in Japan.
By the end of the year, Nielsen//NetRatings will expand its services from Internet audience measurement to research on Japanese e-commerce, Internet investment, and Internet media strategies. |
