Customer satisfaction with Tokyo Metropolitan Government ward office counter services: confirmatory factor analysis of question grouping and principal component regression analysis

This study examines the determinants of service satisfaction among users of a ward office in Tokyo using a two-part questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised three main categories of multiple-choice questions: A) facility equipment (physical elements in the government office), B) staff responses, and C) service delivery (e.g., promptness of services, whether visitors completed their scheduled errands). In addition, three groups of questions related to the personalities of the users of each facility were investigated. During a one-day survey period, responses were collected from 400 women, aged 30–59 years, who had visited a ward office in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area over a one-month period. This age segment was studied because it is the major segment of the panel of the Internet research firm used. First, factor analysis was used to check the appropriateness of the grouping of questions, and it was confirmed that the three groups were appropriate based on eigenvalues and scree plots. Then, to examine the determinants of counter service customer satisfaction, principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted for each question category. The regression analysis using the three main question groups and three other respondents’ personality-related question groups indicated that group C (service delivery quality) had the strongest influence on the dependent variable, followed by group B and group A. The adjusted R2 value was .70. This result is consistent with the results of the author’s surveys of government offices in urban areas conducted for Higashihiroshima City Hall and of ward offices in Osaka.

Late-night noise hazards and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's countermeasures in the 1960s

In 1960s Tokyo, late-night noise became a source of annoyance for urban-dwellers in residential areas. The problem was primarily due to young people who congregated around small food establishments eating and drinking. The situation led to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to attempt to remove such small businesses through the 1969 Environmental Pollution Prevention Ordinance. However, the section of the ordinance dealing with late-night noise hazards was diluted by the political parties, who supported the interests of such businesses, hence failing to satisfy local residents who were victims of the problem.