The current response rates of mail surveys conducted by Asahi Shimbun are typically above 75 percent. A major contributing factor of these high response rates is the respect that Asahi Shimbun commands. However, the response rates of our face-to-face surveys are about 15 percent lower than those of mail surveys. This paper provides new findings and presents many potential factors influencing mail surveys. Response rates are less affected by the survey topic if we use the same operational details. The response rates of three recent mail surveys are 78% (topic: Trust), 77% (Health), and 79% (Politics). Further, three characteristic curves of cumulative returns are very similar. However, members of the sample who have an interest in the topics respond faster than people who answer surveys as a result of effective follow-ups and incentives. Effective strategies for offering incentives yield higher response rates and lower the effect of topic interest.
