In 2010, an additional survey was conducted to reveal the awareness of people who are not involved in Satoyama movements. A series of questionnaires was sent randomly by Internet to a pool of consumer testers who had agreed to answer surveys in August 2010, and 5,000 answers were obtained: 2,500 from males and 2,500 from females. The spatial distribution of respondents was not biased toward rural or urban areas.
Figure 6.8 shows the results of the survey regarding the image people have of rural landscapes in Japan: it indicated that the majority of people associated “Nature,” “Home Town,” “Relaxation,” “Mountain, Forest and River,” “Scenery,” and “Agricultural Land” with rural landscapes in Japan. Ratios did not differ greatly according to age group. However, there was a slight significance in the tendency of teenagers and those in their twenties to choose “Relaxation” more than elder populations.
Figure 6.9 shows the answers to the question, “How do you want to relate to rural areas?” The majority of people answered “Want to enjoy nature,” followed by “Want to relax,” “Want to engage in tourism,” and “Want to do outdoor activities.” Also, the answer “Want to live in the future” is the fifth biggest answer.
Figure 6.10 shows the answer to the question “What is the reason if you cannot live in rural areas even if you want to?” The majority of people have chosen the answers “Can’t leave from current job,” “Few shopping options,” “Nervous about access to doctors,” “There are no interesting jobs,” and “Have no relatives in rural areas.” The answer “Others” includes “Do not have enough money” and “Have to take care of parents” as additional reasons.
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Fig. 6.9 How do you want to relate to rural areas? |
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Fig. 6.10 Reasons to prevent living in rural areas |
