Japanese in 20s leave home less frequently than 70s: survey

October 16, 2017

TOKYO- Japanese people in their 20s leave their homes less frequently than those in their 70s, a recent mobility survey has shown.

The survey, conducted by East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc., also showed that over 60 pct of respondents in their 20s admit having a tendency to isolate themselves from society.

"They can now do shopping and many other things at home thanks to the spread of the Internet and smartphones," an official of the company said about the findings on young people.

A total of 2,200 people aged 20 to 79, excluding students, responded to the survey, which was conducted in March through the Internet.

The frequency of leaving the home was calculated by the number of times they go out for work, shopping, eating out, beauty care, exercise, recreation, education, hospital visits and 10 other purposes per month.

The overall average number of times leaving the home stood at 43.6. The frequency did not vary significantly by where the respondents lived or whether they were married.

The average stood at 49.1 for respondents in their 30s, the highest of all age brackets, and gradually declined with advancing age to 40.8 for those in their 70s. But the average for people in their 20s was much lower, at 37.3.

The survey also showed that the younger the respondents are, the more they are inclined to stay at home.

The percentage of respondents who said they very much think they could stay home all day stood at 35 pct for those in their 20s and 33 pct for those in their 30s.

Those who think or kind of think they tend to isolate themselves from society accounted for 62 pct of respondents in their 20s and over 50 pct of those in their 30s.

The proportion of respondents with indoor hobbies was highest at 72 percent for those in their 20s, 6 percentage points higher than the overall average. The figure was lowest at 57 percent for those in their 70s.

Those who said they try to leave the home on weekends and holidays as much as they can accounted for 40 percent of respondents in their 20s, 9 points lower than the proportion for 30-somethings.

The percentage of those who said they prefer shopping online to in real stores stood at 54 percent for respondents in their 30s and 52 percent for those in their 20s.

"Doing all kinds of things, including working, taking classes and enjoying entertainment, at home may spread dramatically in the future and such a tendency may cause social stagnation," the official said. "Today, when mobility is no longer something essential, we're facing the challenge of enhancing the joy and the value arising from mobility." Jiji Press