52% of Japanese don’t have a problem with counterfeit brand goods and pirated movies

Here is the link to the report.
http://www8.cao.go.jp/survey/tokubetu/h20/h20-chizai.pdf

I think the questions are rather misleading.

Question 1.
Have you ever heard of someone around you who knowingly bought counterfeit brand goods from overseas or through the internet?

Question 2.
What do you think of the acts of knowingly buying counterfeit brand goods? (Chose one.)
-Such acts should not be done no matter what. (39.9%)
-Since they are cheaper, such acts cannot be helped. (27.3%)
(仕方がない in original language)
-Since they have different features form the original, such acts cannot be helped. (7.5%)
-Since they are sold openly, such acts cannot be helped. (17.6%)
-Other. Specify (). (2.1%)
-Cannot answer. (5.5%)

If someone answers yes to Q1, he would most likely answer “cannot be helped” in Q2, thinking, “Oh, my friend is not to blame.” If Q2 had been “Do you buy counterfeit brand goods?” the results would have been totally different.

I don’t see how this is much different from the popular opinion in other, even industrialized, countries. I think the Figma Mikuru I just bought cheap(ish) off ebay is a bootleg (albiet a pretty decent one.)

I’ve now translated the original survey, and as stereo says, it’s a pretty poor set of questions.