433 More Japanese are early birds, fewer read newspapers: survey

A businessman checking the time on his wrist watch

Japanese are getting more active in the early morning, according to a survey by NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute.

The survey, which is conducted every five years, is used as a reference for programming at both the TV and radio arms of NHK.

In the latest poll, conducted in October, the proportion of people who are awake by 7:15 a.m. increased from the previous survey in a wide range of age groups, including young people.

The proportion of those who are at work by 8 a.m. or earlier rose to 20 percent.

I – Word Understanding
Poll – survey

II – Have Your Say
1. Are you one of those working earlier? What do you think are the benefits of working earlier?
2. Please give your opinion on “early birds” compared with “night owls”.
3. Here are the other results of the survey. What do you think of these changes?
– TV-viewing time decreased for all age groups.
– proportion of people who read newspapers for 15 minutes or more per day decreased to 33 percent from 41 percent
– people spend more time on activities such as eating and preparing to go out, and less on activities like entertainment

433 More Japanese are early birds, fewer read newspapers: survey