University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 1508
Survey Title National Survey of Social Stratification and Social Mobility, 2015
Depositor 2015 SSM Survey Management Committee
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Educational Purpose Available for both research and instructional purposes.
Period of Data Use Permission One year
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Summary The national survey of social stratification and social mobility, also known as “Social Stratification and Social Mobility” (SSM), is one of the most traditional large-scale social surveys in Japan and has been conducted every ten years since the first survey in 1955 (by the Japan Sociological Society). The 2015 survey is the seventh in the series and was conducted by the 2015 SSM Research Group.

The primary purpose of this survey is to clarify the changes and actual conditions of social stratification in Japan, focusing on the demographic transformation represented by the rapid aging of the population and the declining birthrate. In addition to raising the upper age limit of the respondents, this survey expands the information on marital behavior and households, which are essential for population change.

The survey is divided into two types of questionnaires: an interview questionnaire and a self-administered questionnaire. However, a separate marriage questionnaire is used for some of the respondents.
Data Type quantitative research: micro data
Universe Men and women of Japanese nationality aged 20-79 as of December 31, 2014.
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size Planned sample size: 16,100
Number of selective samples: 15,605
Number of valid responses: 7,817 (response rate 50.1%)
Date of Collection 2015-01-31 ~ 2015-07-26
Primary survey: 2015/1/31-3/22
Secondary survey: 2015/4/4-5/24
Third survey: 2015/6/6-7/26
Time Period 2015 ~ 2015
Spatial Unit Nationwide, Japan
Sampling Procedure Probability: Stratified
Probability: Multistage
Two-stage stratified random sampling

Municipalities in Japan are stratified into five strata according to population size, and 805 "basic unit wards" in the census are allocated proportionally. Within the strata, the basic unit districts, the primary sampling units, and individuals, the secondary sampling units, are extracted from the Basic Resident Registers using the systematic sampling method.
Mode of Data Collection Face-to-face interview by surveyor and self-administered survey (drop-off/pick-up method)
Investigator 2015 Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey Research Group

For the 800 sites, Central Research Service Co. was commissioned to conduct the actual survey, while the remaining 5 sites were conducted mainly by graduate student members from the University of Tokyo (2 sites), Kyoto University (2 sites), and Tohoku University (1 site).
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.1508
Sponsors (Funds) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Specially Promoted Research), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Related Publications (by the Investigator) Refer to the Japanese version for details.
Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis)
Documentation [ Face-to-face interview ] [ Questionnaire ]
[ Self-administered survey ] [ Questionnaire ]
[ Separate marriage questionnaire ] [ Questionnaire ]
Major Survey Items 【Face-to-face interview questionnaire】

●Gender
●Age
●Current occupation
(*), working hours, labor union, route to employment
●Job content and income satisfaction
●Work environment
●Employment status
●First job
(*), route to employment, the period from graduation to employment, duration of employment, place of residence
●Employment History
(*), reason for leaving employment, duration of employment
●Around age 15
Number of siblings, property holdings, number of books in the house, living conditions
●Junior high school (national, public or private)
●Grades in the 3rd year of junior high school, hope to go on to higher education
●Residence at graduation from junior high school
●Schools attended
●High school
High school (national, public, and private), department, graduation/withdrawal, percentage of students who went on to college, etc. ●Experience attending a specialized training college or higher
Type of school, training status, training period, national/public/private, department, name of school
● Father's job around age 15 of the respondent, father's main job
(*)
● Mother's job around age 15 of the respondent
Employment status, (*)
● Parents
Parents' terminal education record, living or dead, age, year of birth, year of death
●Experience of leaving home
Trigger, current situation, duration
●Marital status, age at marriage, work at marriage, age of separation or bereavement
●Spouse
Age, terminal education record, how they meet, age of acquaintance
●Spouse's current job, a job at marriage
(*)
● Residence
Family members living together, relationship, type of residence, size of residence
● Satisfaction with life in general
● Status identification (5 levels, 10 levels)
● The respondents' annual income, sources of income, spouse's annual income, household income

【Separate marriage questionnaire】 ※For those who remarried
●First marriage
Age at first marriage, age of separation or bereavement, information on spouse at first marriage (age, occupation type, terminal education record), age of acquaintance, reason for meeting

【Self-administered questionnaire】
●The current level of happiness
● Ideas about the state of the world
● Attitudes toward gender roles
● Attitudes toward children's education, etc.
● Perceived unfairness
● Ideas about people in the world
● Purchasing behavior
Means of shopping, awareness of food products
●Participation in social activities
●Frequency of cultural activities
●Time for household chores and hobbies
●Children
Gender, birth year, relationship, residential status, terminal education record
●Monthly expenditure on out-of-school education
●Views on the Social Security system
●Experience attending tutoring school (juku), etc.
●The last school attended
●Sources of income to count on in old age
●Subjective health, mental health
●Lifestyle
●Current employer
Benefits (existence and actual status), ratio of non-full-time employees and female employees, prospects for promotion
● Interest in politics, support for political parties, favorability of political parties
● Ideal number of children
● Average cost of living per month
● Ownership of property
● The total amount of assets owned, amount of repayment
● Inheritance/gift from parents, amount of inheritance/gift from parents
Date of Release 2022/09/29
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Equality, inequality and social exclusion
Topics in SSJDA Society/Culture
Version 1 : 2022-09-29
1.1 : 2024-01-22
1.2 : 2024-02-27
Notes for Users Added 1:Showa and 2:Heisei to the value labels of the original issue (q1_2_2) in version 1.1.
Added weight files in version 1.2.