The edict ordered a complete national census that was submitted in a document stating the number of households in each village and the gender, approximate age, and profession of their inhabitants. Its purpose was said to be gauging the nation's military potential and the number of laborers that could be mobilized for Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea. The Population Census Edict also had clauses in common with the Separation Edict that had been issued the previous year in 1591 and it contributed to the process of socially separating of the warrior class and peasant class. It thus can be seen as part of both Hideyoshi's policy of expansion into Asia and his policy of strengthening the social class structure.