DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04472.v1
title: Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSS) Cumulative Data, 2000-2003
title: Version 1

description: This collection is the combination of surveys designed to solicit political, sociological, and economic information from people living in Japan from 2000 to 2003. The individual Japanese General Social Surveys covered by this collection are ICPSR 3593 (2000), ICPSR 4213 (2001), ICPSR 4214 (2002), and ICPSR 4242 (2003). Respondents were queried on crime and the judicial system, and more specifically, on issues such as the death penalty, juvenile punishment, and whether respondents were victims of various crimes within the last year. Questions on family issues covered topics such as divorce, the health of respondents' marriages, the roles of each spouse, and issues involving children. Questions on finances included the state of respondents' finances during the last few years and compared to other Japanese families both past and present, whether the income tax rate was high, and the ease of improving one's standard of living in Japan. Political questions addressed government spending, the responsibility of the government, and whether respondents would vote for a female gubernatorial candidate. Also, respondents were asked to rate their political views on a scale from conservative (1) to progressive (5). In terms of health, questions were asked on the health of respondents and their spouses, the topic of euthanasia, donation cards, and the frequency of smoking and alcohol consumption. Quality of life questions addressed the frequency with which respondents read the newspaper and watched television, the amount of satisfaction respondents received from life, and how often respondents participated in leisure activities like fishing, jogging, and mahjong. Respondents were asked to give their opinions concerning extra-marital affairs, sexual relations between two adults of the same sex, pornography, and prostitution. Information gathered on religion included the extent of their participation in a particular religion, whether respondents believed in life after death, and views on burial. Respondents were polled for information regarding their social status and whether respondents were members of any groups including religious, trade, or social service organizations. Demographic information included age, sex, employment status, marital status, household income, and religious orientation.
description: The JGSS-2000 dataset has a variable WEIGHT to weight data for population estimates. This is produced by calculating the number of people that one respondent represents, by taking into consideration the following factors: Region (6 categories) x City or not (2 categories) x Sex (2 categories) x 10-year Age Group (6 categories*) = 144 categories (70-79- and 80-89-year-olds are combined to form one age category). WEIGHT for each category was calculated by dividing the population for the category by the number of respondents for that category. The 2000 population for each category was obtained from the 2000 Population Census. The estimated 2001 population for each category was obtained by adjusting the estimated 2001 population based on the 2000 Population Census. The estimated 2002 population for each category was obtained by adjusting the estimated 2002 population based on the 2000 Population Census. The estimated 2003 population for each category was obtained by adjusting the estimated 2003 population based on the 2000 Population Census. For more information see the Weighting section of the codebook.
description: Response Rates: 64.9 percent: 2000, 63.1 percent: 2001, 62.3 percent: 2002, 51.5 percent 2003 Form A, and 55.0 percent: 2003 Form B.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Several Likert-type scales were used.
description: Two-stage stratified random sampling, stratified by regional block (6) and population size (major cities, other cities, and towns and villages).
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: English Data DS2: Japanese Data
description: Men and women aged 20-89 living in Japan who have the right to vote.
description: personal interview; self-enumerated questionnaireJGSS data and the supporting documents are provided both in English and Japanese for convenience for users of either language. The JGSS is conducted in the Japanese language. The English version of the questionnaires and datasets have been constructed for the convenience of researchers. This is to remind all users of the English version of the JGSS datasets and questionnaires that the nuanced meanings conveyed in the original language may not be contained in the English version of the questionnaires and datasets.Value labels for values 8888888888 and 9999999999 were removed from variable SZPAYYRX in the Stata files because they caused a Stata-specific error.JGSS datasets from 2000-2003 were combined to create the datasets in this study.More information about Japanese General Social surveys can be found on the Japanese General Social Survey Web site.The producer of these data is Osaka University of Commerce, Office of Japanese General Social Surveys [2006] in Osaka, Japan.