I was reading Hashihime and started wondering if Japanese actually listen to the radio, and if yes, how. In America, most listeners tune in when they drive somewhere or when they are in a mindless entry-level job. So, radio mostly comes in two varieties: driving radio, which delivers traffic and weather information, and plays filler music, and office radio, which playes mostly what is known as "light rock". Outside of the main two kinds, a large number of stations with relatively miniscule listenership exist: NPR for dumb liberals, Rush for dumb conservatives, Radio Disney, music stations, etc.

In anime, it's quite common to see a boombox at a student's table. Then, we have Lucky Star where Akira and Shiraishi plug the radio show. In Xenoglossia, there's the Yayoi Broadcast. This seems to suggest a different listening pattern, where listeners are stationary.

By the way, I heard from the owner of Japan-a-radio that 60% of their listeners connect from Japan. Again, looks like lots of people are bound to their computers all day long. The intriguing question is, are they a part of "long tail", or do they crop out of a general pattern?