USAGE AND MEANING OF INFORMATION IN JAPAN ESE

Japanese term 'joho' was coined in 1876. The meaning of 'joho' nearly correspond to 'information' in English. This paper discuss the gap bet ween the definition of 'joho' or 'information' in books or papers and the usage of this term in daily life. Many discussions and definitions about the meaning of information by researchers emphasize four common factors; evaluation, acceptance, difference between information and d ata, and strong relationship to knowledge. Based on the survey of maga zines, newspapers, BBS, and TV programs in Japanese, 934 phrases, whic h include the term 'information', 'data', or 'knowlede', are collected . In some phrases in these media, the term 'information' was used for something not evaluate, or not accept by recipient, and 'data' was exc hangeable for 'information'. Finally, categorization of 'information b ased on the usage in daily life is conducted.