University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0569
Survey Title 3rd Survey on Marriage and Childbirth, 2007
Depositor Meiji Yasuda Research Institute, Inc.
(Former Name:Meiji Yasuda Institute of Life and Wellness, Inc.)
Restriction of Use For detailed information, please refer to 'For Data Users' on the SSJDA website.

- Apply to SSJDA. SSJDA's approval is required.
Educational Purpose Available for both research and instructional purposes.
Period of Data Use Permission One year
Access to Datasets Download
SSJDA Data Analysis Not available
Summary The Meiji Yasuda Institute of Life and Wellness has been conducting an annual questionnaire survey on marriage and childbirth since 2005. The survey subject group is narrowed down to the age group that is seriously considering marriage and childbirth (those in their 20s and 30s). From a unique perspective, the study reveals the desires and anxieties of these age groups with respect to marriage and childbirth with references to other related survey results and research theses.

In addition to the continuous survey items, the 2007 survey featured new survey items about the level of familiarity and necessary amount for “childcare support allowance,” which was a topic that had not been the subject of much discussion in Japan despite being indispensable in considering the effectiveness of countermeasures for declining birth rate.

There are two versions of the questionnaire, one for married people and one for single people, and they both inquire about essentially the same topics. For both married and single respondents, there are Type I questions that display information about the “childcare support allowance” and ask about familiarity and necessary amount and Type II questions that do not contain these categories. The survey report shows data by Type I and Type II for married and single respondents.
Data Type quantitative research: micro data
Universe Men and women in their 20s and 30s
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size Valid responses: 753 people
Among them, married I: 161 people
      married II: 167 people
      singles I: 212 people
      singles II: 213 people
Date of Collection 2007-03-01 ~ 2007-03-01
2007/03/01
Time Period 2007 ~ 2007
Spatial Unit saitama
chiba
tokyo
kanagawa
Four prefectures (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba)
Sampling Procedure Non-probability: Quota
Quota random sampling

Randomly sampled from the access panel of the Japan Marketing Agency (JMA) (15,000 people in Tokyo and three other prefectures, as of February 2007), using each of the basic attributes shown in the 16 cells below.

 (1) Marital status (unmarried/married)
 (2) Gender (men/women)
 (3) By age stratum(20-24 years old/25-29 years old/30-34 years old/35-39 years old)

Responses were collected in the order of arrival until an analyzable number of responses was attained for the basic attributes in each of the above 16 cells.
Mode of Data Collection Self-administered questionnaire: Paper
Placement (self-administered) method (collected by mail)

Representativeness was enhanced by weighting the summarized results using the population profile in The 2005 Population Census of Japan.
Investigator Meiji Yasuda Institute of Life and Wellness, Inc., survey carried out by Japan Marketing Agency
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.0569
Sponsors (Funds)
Related Publications (by the Investigator) Please refer to the abstract in Japanese.
Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis)
Documentation [[Married People Questionnaire][Singles Questionnaire]
Major Survey Items [Married People Survey]

(1) Parents/spouse
Whether living with parents, time it takes to reach parents’ house, whether living with spouse’s parents, time it takes to reach spouse’s parents’ house, presence of school-age children, support currently received from parent, amount of financial support from parents, support respondent hopes to receive from parents, amount of financial support respondent hopes to receive from parents, division of childrearing (current, ideal), division of housework (current, ideal)

(2) Cohabitation
Cohabitation experience with spouse prior to marrying him or her, relationship between cohabitation and marriage, cohabitation period, learning gained through cohabitation, whether cohabitation affects the timing of marriage

(3) Path to marriage
Age at the time of marriage, how respondent met spouse, reason for deciding to marry

(4) Marriage, childbirth/childrearing support system [Married I respondents only]
Awareness of cash benefits and incentives, alleviation of economic anxiety after receiving allowance notification, support payment amount respondent considers necessary

(5) Children
Presence/number of children, age at which respondent wants to have a first child, desired number of children, feelings about whether wanting children, conditions to have children, reason for giving up on having a child, requirements for wanting to have a child, feelings about wanting a child compared with previous year, reason for becoming optimistic/pessimistic about wanting a child

(6) Marriage
Positives and negatives of marriage

(7) Women’s lifestyles
Desired lifestyle and lifestyle of marriage partner respondent desires

(8) Attributes
Occupation, employment status, gender, age, area of residence, type of housing, number of household family members, household family structure, number of children in household, age when first child was born, highest level of educational attainment, experience/number of divorces, birthplace, annual household income, income proportion between spouses for the previous year, ideal spousal proportion of income, amount of household savings, amount of household debt


[Singles Survey]

(1) Parents/spouse
Intention to live with parents after marriage, desired distance from parents’ house (in time), intension to live with spouse’s parents, desired distance from spouse’s parents’ house measured (in time), support respondent hopes to receive from parents, amount of financial support respondent hopes to receive from parents, ideal division of childrearing, ideal division of housework

(2) Single life, relationships with people of the opposite sex, cohabitation
Reason for being single, whether currently involved in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex, marriage with a current partner of the opposite sex, necessary requirements for deciding to marry, experience of being involved in a relationship with potential marriage partners of the opposite sex, experience of taking a step toward marriage, number of people to whom respondent has proposed, number of people to whom respondent implied marriage, opportunities for relationships, types of opportunities respondent prefers for meeting people, experience of cohabiting with a romantic partner, things learned from cohabiting before marriage, whether cohabitation affects the timing of marriage

(3) Marriage, childbirth/childrearing support system [Singles I respondents only]
Awareness of cash payments and incentives, alleviation of economic anxiety after receiving allowance notification, support payment amount respondent considers necessary

(4) Marriage
Desire for marriage, desired age of marriage, necessary conditions for deciding to marry, merits/expectations of marriage, demerits/anxiety of marriage, aspiration to get married compared with the previous year, reason for becoming optimistic about marriage, reason for becoming pessimistic about marriage, requirements for marriage partner

(5) Children
Desire to have children, age at which respondent wants first child, desired number of children, feelings about wanting a child compared with previous year, reason for becoming optimistic/pessimistic about wanting children

(6) Women’s lifestyles
Desired lifestyle and lifestyle of marriage partner respondent desires

(7) Attributes
Occupation, employment status, gender, age, area of residence, type of housing, number of household family members, household family structure, financial support relationship between respondent and his or her parents, amount of financial support to parents, amount of financial support from parents, experience/number of marriages, highest level of educational attainment, birthplace, annual income, amount of savings, amount of debt.
Date of Release 2009/03/27
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND GROUPINGS
Family life and marriage
SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY AND SYSTEMS
Specific social services: use and availability
Topics in SSJDA Society/Culture
Version 1 : 2009-03-27
Notes for Users