Press Releases

Tokyo, Mar 22, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - Edelman (www.edelman.jp), Japan's premier international PR consultancy, today announced the results of a new blogging study that suggests Japanese are reading blogs more -- though less likely to take public affairs-related action from reading them -- compared to Americans, Koreans, British, or French. Conducted by StrategyOne, the poll of 1,000 Japanese (which accompanies similar studies conducted in the US, South Korea, the UK and France) shows that:

-- In an average week, almost three quarters (74%) of the Japanese Internet users who participated in the survey said they read blogs at least once a week. This is significantly more compared to the other countries studied, with just under a half (43%) in South Korea, just under a quarter in the UK (23%) and France (22%) and just over a quarter in the USA (27%).

-- Less than 1 in 5 (18%) of people interviewed in Japan said they have taken some sort of public affairs action as a result of reading a blog, similar to South Korea (19%), but significantly less than in the UK (28%), France (27%) and the US (28%). Actions listed included: writing or calling a politician, writing an article/letter to the editor for a newspaper or magazine, attending a public meeting on local issues, attending a political rally, making a public speech, serving on the committee of a local organization, being a member of any group that tries to influence public policy or government, signing a petition, etc.

-- Among respondents who claim to have taken part in at least three (3) of the activities listed 'Influencers', fewer of this group (29%) were likely to do so as a result of reading a blog in Japan, compared to similar groups in other countries with 4 in 10 (41%) of Influencers interviewed in South Korea, UK (48%) and the US (49%), taking action after reading a blog.

-- People interviewed in Japan were most likely to have signed a petition (18%) followed by attending a public meeting (9%).

"Even though blogging intensity is so high in Japan, the mobilizing potential of blogs for marketing or political campaigns has not yet become fully established," says Robert Pickard, President of Edelman, North Asia. "However, our recent Edelman Trust Barometer research shows that Japanese are more likely than people in other countries to punish companies they don't trust by taking personal actions against them, so it's just a matter of time for this tendency - amplified by blogs - to assert itself in the marketplace and at election time."

The execution of this study was carried out in November 2006 by international research firm StrategyOne, a Daniel J. Edelman company. The research was conducted using an online survey comprised of 1000 Japanese respondents. In all other countries referred to in this study, an omnibus survey amongst the general population was used. Because the Japanese survey was conducted online, it is possible that the figures may be skewed in favour of showing a higher readership of blogs.

About Edelman Japan

Founded in 1952, Edelman (www.edelman.com) is the world's largest independent public relations agency with annual revenues of USD 292 million (JPY 34 billion). The firm's more than 2,500 professionals serve clients from 47 offices in 24 countries. Japan's premier international PR consultancy (www.edelman.jp), Edelman offers a full spectrum of the most state-of-the-art public relations services available today. From CSR communications to business-building publicity to understanding the rise of blogging and social media, Edelman is working to set a new PR standard by helping world companies communicate in Japan, and helping Japanese companies communicate around the world.

Source: Edelman Japan

Contact:

Edelman Japan
Jennifer Poulson
Email: jennifer.poulson@edelman.com
Tel: +81-3-6403-5212