University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0067
Survey Title Survey of the Commuting Situation among Commuters working in Large Urban Areas, 1994
Depositor JTUC Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards
(Former Name:Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards)
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Educational Purpose Only available for research.
Period of Data Use Permission One year
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Summary One of the most important tasks of today's Japan is to achieve the status of a lifestyle superpower (seikatsu taikoku) by realizing comport and affluence for the working population. For this purpose, various efforts and reforms are due at the societal, company, and individual levels. In particular, commuting in metropolitan areas constitutes one of the most pressing problems to tackle for a better quality of life is just impossible without alleviating the current overcrowding and long rides, horrible enough to be ridiculed as a "commuting hell." With this problem consciousness, this survey aimed at demand-side clarification of commuting problems and exploration of policy directions and possibilities. Specifically, the survey consists of company and individual questionnaires.
Data Type quantitative research
quantitative research: micro data
Universe [Individual Questionnaire]
Employees (including non-unionists) who commute in the three major metropolitan areas.
[Company Questionnaire]
Business establishments located in the same areas.
Unit of Observation Individual,Organization
Sample Size [Individual Questionnaire]
A sample of 2,000, of whom 1,217(60.9%) returned valid responses.
[Company Questionnaire]
A sample of 300, of which 169 (56.3%) returned valid responses.
Date of Collection 1994-01 ~ 1994-02
January-February, 1994
Time Period 1994 ~ 1994
Spatial Unit tokyo
aichi
osaka
Tokyo's 23 wards, Nagoya City, and Osaka City
Sampling Procedure
Mode of Data Collection JTUC-RIALS distributed and collected self-administered questionnaires via mail in cooperation with the local organizations (Rengo Tokyo, Rengo Aichi, and Rengo Osaka).
Investigator JTUC Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.0067
Sponsors (Funds) The Ministry of Labor
Related Publications (by the Investigator) JTUC-RIALS (March 1994) Heisei 5-nendo Shin jidai no roshi kankei ni kansuru chosa kenkyu (Daitoshiken tsukin mondai ni kansuru chosa kenkyu) [Research Study on Industrial Relations in a New Era (Research study on the commuting problem in metropolitan areas.)]
Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis)
Documentation [Kigyo Chosa-hyo][Kojin Chosa-hyo]
Major Survey Items [Company Questionnaire]
Company profile: number of regular employees; industry; establishment's location within company; number of regular employees at establishment; hours.
Questionnaire items: peak arrival time period; time period when 90 percent of employees have arrived; staggering of commuting hours (year started, ratio of employees subject to the arrangement; divisions subject to the arrangement, opening time and its variation, result of the arrangement); flexible hours system (year started, ratio of employees subject to the arrangement, divisions subject to the arrangement, core hours, result of the arrangement); de facto working hours system [minashi rodo jikan-sei ] (outside establishment or discretionary, year started, ratio of employees subject to the arrangement, divisions subject to the arrangement, result of the arrangement); accompanying measures to facilitate those arrangements; degree of impact of commuting burden on work; necessity of measures to reduce the burden; measures to reduce the burden; requests to government administration for shorter commuting time and less crowding; attitude to adoption of summer time.

[Individual Questionnaire]
Demographic items: sex; age; household type; spouse's occupation; type of dwelling; total number of employees at company; industry; division; title; payment of extra hours worked; education; dwelling place; ward in which workplace is located.
Questionnaire items: time when Respondent leaves home; number of transfers R makes to reach workplace; main vehicle R uses; time period when R uses it; degree of crowding; frequency of securing a seat; degree of fatigue felt on the way to workplace; effect of changes in commuting hours on the burden and necessary changes; problems necessitated by such changes; opening time decision-making; opening time; time R usually arrives at workplace; whether R is subject staggered commuting hours; degree of reduction in the burden as a result of the arrangement; flexible hours in operation or not; core hours in operation or not; (if yes) core hours; number of days per month when R arrives at workplace by at least 30 min. difference; reasons for the little effect of the arrangement on actual time schedule; agree or disagree with flexible hours; measures company took in adopting those arrangements; nature and atmosphere of job and workplace; uses of commuting time saved by closer work-home proximity; attitude to adoption of summer time; important criteria for housing choice; whether R prefers workplace transfer to avoid crowding; measures company and government administration
should take for shorter commuting time and less crowding.
Date of Release 2000/02/08
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Working conditions
Social conditions and indicators
Topics in SSJDA Employment/Labor
Society/Culture
Version 1 : 2000-02-08
Notes for Users Data Sets are written in Japanese.