DOI: 10.3886/icpsr25181.v1
title: Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS), 2006
title: Version 1

description: This survey was designed to solicit political, sociological, and economic information from people living in Japan. The data were collected between October 3 and November 3, 2006, using face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Respondents were asked to give employment information for themselves and their spouses, including industry, size of employer, number of hours worked, level of job satisfaction, and time spent commuting. Respondents were also queried regarding employment information and education level of their parents when the respondent was aged 15. Several questions were asked about household composition, the type of residence, the state of respondents' finances during the last few years and compared to other Japanese families both past and present, sources of financial support, the ease of improving one's standard of living in Japan, and the use of credit cards and consumer financing. Views were also sought on divorce, the roles of each spouse, issues involving children, the responsibility of the government, and taxation issues. In terms of health, questions were asked regarding the physical and mental health of respondents and their household members, the frequency of smoking and alcohol consumption, and their views on genetically modified foods. Quality of life questions addressed the amount of satisfaction respondents received from life, and how often they participated in sports, leisure, and volunteer activities. Additional topics covered were euthanasia, the use of technology, juvenile delinquency, car ownership and usage, their level of trust in various institutions, and whether respondents belonged to religious, trade, or social service organizations. Demographic variables include age, sex, education level, employment status, occupation, labor union membership, marital status, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), household income, perceived social status, political orientation, political party affiliation, and religious affiliation.
description: The JGSS-2006 dataset has a variable "WEIGHT" to weight data for population estimates. This is produced by calculating the number of people which one respondent represents by taking into consideration the following factors: Sex (2 categories) x 10-year Age Group (7 categories) = 14 categories "WEIGHT" for each category was calculated by dividing the population for the category by the number of respondents for that category. The estimated 2006 population for each category was obtained by adjusting the estimated 2006 population based on the 2005 Population Census. For more information please see the WEIGHT table in the codebook appendix.
description: Response Rates: 59.8 percent
description: Presence of Common Scales: Not applicable.
description: Two-stage stratified random sampling; stratified by regional block (6) and population size ( major cities, cities with population of 200,000 or more, cities with population of less than 200,000, and towns/villages). Number of survey point: 526. Number of samples at each survey point: 14-16. For more information, please see the Sampling appendix in the codebook.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: English Data DS2: Japanese Data
description: Men and women 20-89 years of age living in Japan. Smallest Geographic Unit: prefecture
description: computer-assisted self interview (CASI); face-to-face interview; self-enumerated questionnaireIf you are publishing the results of analyses using the JGSS datasets, please quote the following acknowledgment: The Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSS) are designed and carried out by the JGSS Research Center at Osaka University of Commerce (Joint Usage / Research Center for Japanese General Social Surveys accredited by Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), in collaboration with the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo. In addition, please add an acknowledgment of the data archive from which you obtained the dataset. If you obtained the dataset from SSJ Data Archive, please stipulate: "The datasets are distributed by SSJ Data Archive, Institute of Social Science, the University of Tokyo."The data available for download are not weighted, and users will need to weight the data prior to analysis.JGSS data and the supporting documents are provided both in English and Japanese for the convenience of 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.The CASEID variable was created for use with online analysis.The codebook for the Japanese data (part 2) includes the original codebook sent to ICPSR by the Japanese General Social Survey, 2006. Some of the variables labels in the Japanese ICPSR codebook are missing due to conversion issues.More information about Japanese General Social surveys can be found on the Japanese General Social Survey Web site.Additional information about sampling, interviewing, and weighting may be found in the codebook.