While "security" is increasing in the short term, is the future filled with "anxiety"?

In November 2020, DENTSU SOKENINC. and Dentsu Future Forecasting Support Lab conducted the "Quality of Society Survey 2020" with 12,000 respondents nationwide, supervised by Professor Yasufumi Shibauchi of Tokyo Keizai University.

This series has introduced people's awareness and values over three installments. Following the "Individual Perspective" in Part 2 and the "Family and Community Perspective" in Part 3, this installment presents survey results on the theme of "Society," examining how people perceive today's society and what kind of social institutions and systems they desire.

<Table of Contents>
▼Current social security is reevaluated, but long-term concerns remain
▼People Seek "Accuracy and Reliability" from Information Sources and Media
▼ People want to make their own decisions, expecting support from robots and AI
▼Satisfied with current living conditions, but outlook remains uncertain?
▼Japan's present and future viewed through the lens of "reliability and durability"

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Current social security systems are being reevaluated, but long-term concerns remain

How do people perceive Japan's social security system? Please see the graph below.

The percentage of respondents who felt "secure" (combining "feel secure" and "somewhat secure") about Japan's social security was 37.2% for both "universal health insurance" and "medical care (preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services)". This was followed by "free higher education" at 29.4% and "child-rearing support" at 18.3%.

Conversely, the items receiving the highest percentage of "anxious" responses (combining "feel anxious" and "somewhat anxious") were "income security in old age (pensions)" at 72.3%, "funding sources for social security" at 67.7%, and "elderly care support" at 58.2%. This clearly reflects the anxieties of people living in a "super-aged society."

Comparing the percentage of respondents who answered "reassured" with 2019 data, reassurance increased across all nine surveyed items. Notably, reassurance regarding universal health insurance rose by approximately 12 percentage points, and regarding healthcare by approximately 5 percentage points. This significant increase in reassurance indicates a renewed appreciation for Japan's social systems in the insurance and healthcare sectors.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have inadvertently provided an opportunity for people to reassess Japan's social security system.

This reveals the mindset of people who feel secure about the current state of Japan's social security but anxious about its future.

What people seek from information sources and media is "accuracy and reliability"

Next, we examine the roles expected of the media. [Figure 3] shows the results of asking about "Attitudes Toward Information Sources and Media."

The results show that people seek: "Providing consistently accurate information" (84.6%), "Providing trustworthy information" (78.9%), "Providing valuable information for the money paid" and "Communicating societal problems and challenges" (both 72.0%) (combined "Strongly agree" and "Somewhat agree").

In today's information-saturated society, people prioritize accuracy and reliability in information sources and media to understand broader societal trends.

People want to make decisions themselves, expecting support from robots and AI

Next, [Figure 4] shows expectations for technologies like robots and AI (artificial intelligence).

Expectations ranked as follows: "Predicting and preventing crimes" (46.4%), "Providing medical and health information tailored to one's constitution and physical condition" (40.1%), and "Enabling international exchange beyond language barriers" (39.8%).

Conversely, the least anticipated uses were: "AI making decisions on policy or court rulings" (5.7%), "AI determining promotions or raises in companies" (6.5%), and "AI providing matches with more compatible partners" (9.6%).

While expectations are high for AI's role in supporting safe and secure living, such as crime prevention and healthcare, there appears to be resistance to entrusting robots or AI with decision-making itself, as seen in "policy decisions, court rulings," "promotions or raises," and "providing matches."

Satisfied with current life, but outlook not so bright?

Finally, we present [Figure 5] Satisfaction with Current Living Conditions and [Figure 6] Outlook for Future Living Conditions. Please look at the two graphs.

Regarding their current "living situation," 50.8% responded "satisfied" (combining "very satisfied" and "somewhat satisfied"), while 22.3% responded "dissatisfied" (combining "very dissatisfied" and "somewhat dissatisfied"). Both figures remained nearly unchanged from the previous year.

In contrast, when asked about future outlooks, the percentage who answered "will worsen" (combining "will worsen" and "somewhat will worsen") was 61.9% for "perceived burden of taxes and social insurance premiums on household finances," 44.3% for "income/household financial situation," and 42.3% for "employment opportunities and job stability." Overall, it was found that significantly more people held the outlook that things would get worse than those who thought they would get better.

Similar to the survey results on the social security system, this also reveals the state of people feeling anxious about future prospects.

The Present and Future of Japanese Society from the Perspective of "Reliability and Durability"

The survey results examined so far indicate that within the social security system, people are reassessing social security, with increased "assurance" regarding universal health insurance and medical care.

On the other hand, many people seem to feel "anxiety" about a future with further population aging. In other words, it can be said that significant challenges exist from the perspective of reliability and durability. Perhaps there is a stronger demand not only for symptomatic measures but also for focusing efforts on social systems and structures that look ahead to society in 10 or 20 years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has served as an opportunity to reexamine the mechanisms and systems of society as a whole, while also prompting people to reassess their own lives. The growing demand for "accuracy" and "trustworthiness" in information sources and media can be interpreted as a heightened awareness that, precisely because of anxieties about the future, we must grasp our current position within society and make sound judgments for ourselves.

Next time, we will explore "a better society" and "a better future" from the perspectives of DENTSU SOKEN INC. and Dentsu Future Forecasting Support Lab.

*The percentages in the graphs are calculated based on the actual number of respondents within each category and rounded to the nearest whole number. Similarly, the combined percentage of respondents is calculated based on the actual number of respondents in the combined categories and rounded to the nearest whole number. Therefore, the sum of the individual percentages may not always match the combined percentage.

Survey Overview
Title: "Quality of Society Survey"
Survey Period: First Survey: December 11-18, 2019; Second Survey: November 11-17, 2020
Survey Method: Internet survey
Target Area: Nationwide
Respondents: 12,000 men and women aged 18 to 74
Survey Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

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