University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number PM010
Survey Title Japanese Life Course Panel Survey of the Middle-aged (JLPS-M) Wave 1 Basic Data, 2007
Depositor Japanese Life Course Panel Surveys (JLPS) project, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo
Restriction of Use For detailed information, please refer to 'For Data Users' at SSJDA website.

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Educational Purpose Available for both research and instructional purposes.
Period of Data Use Permission Usage period is unlimited for research purposes. Usage period is one year for educational purposes.
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Summary Along with changes in the labor market structure, the drastic decline in the birthrate, the growing proportion of elderly people, and the progress of globalization, the way of employment, marriage, family, education, social attitudes, and lifestyle in Japanese society are about to undergo a substantial change. When considering the future direction of Japanese society, it is extremely important to clarify the cause of changes that are currently occurring, or where these changes are occurring.

The panel research project of the Institute of Social Science of The University of Tokyo uses a panel (follow-up) survey method to empirically elucidate these issues. For this reason, the Institute of Social Science at The University of Tokyo is implementing three panel surveys, as a nationwide survey on changes in working style and lifestyle (called the Japanese Life Course Panel Surveys, or JLPS). JLPS consists of a youth panel (JLPS-Y), a middle-aged panel (JLPS-M), and a panel of high school graduates (JLPS-H).

JLPS-Y and JLPS-M, which started in January 2007, include comprehensive questionnaire items on topics such as occupation, family, education, social attitudes (including political attitude), health, etc., in Japan, and is one of the few large panel surveys in Japan. Items related to occupation are also very detailed, and items in compliance with the national survey on social stratification and social mobility (SSM Survey) are being asked.

In this way, JLPS is not only focused on a design that allows for international comparative analysis, especially with reference to the experience of extensive panel surveys in the UK and the US, but we also refer to survey items of existing Japanese surveys (including cross-sectional items).

JLPS-Y covers the so-called “young generation” from 20 to 34 years old as of the end of December 2006, and JLPS-M covers the “middle-aged generation” from 35 to 40 years old. The question items for both groups are the same.

Among the above three surveys, the survey recorded here relates to “Japanese Life Course Panel Surveys of the Middle-aged” (JLPS-M)
Wave 1 conducted in 2007. The survey has been scheduled to continue every year after that. The “Youth Panel Survey” conducted in the same period is included in SSJDA survey number PY010.

In promoting the panel research project of the Institute of Social Science, the following funds have been received. Research fund of the Institute of Social Science of The University of Tokyo (from 2003); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant for Scientific Research (Basic Research S: 2006-2009, FY 2010-2014); Grant-in-aid for Health and Labor Science Research (Policy Science Promotion Research: FY 2004-2006); scholarship donation: Outsourcing Inc. (Chairman and CEO: Haruhiko Doi, head office: Shizuoka city): FY 2006 - 2008.
Data Type quantitative research
quantitative research: micro data
Universe Male and female residents in Japan aged between 35 and 40
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size Number of valid responses (A): 1,433
Number of questionnaires distributed (B): 3,549
Response rate (A/B): 40.4%

Male: (A) 672, (B) 1,886, (C) 35.6%
Female: (A) 761, (B) 1,663, (C) 45.8%
Date of Collection 2007-01 ~ 2007-04
January to April in 2007
Time Period 2007 ~ 2007
Spatial Unit Japan
Japan
Sampling Procedure Probability: Stratified
Probability: Multistage
A two-stage stratified sampling method was employed.
1. Stratified by region (10 groups) and city size (4 groups) (271 sites).
2. Also stratified by sex and age (five-year intervals).
3. The Basic Resident Register was mainly used as a list of population members. The voter registration list was also used for sampling areas where the Basic Resident Register could not be used for sampling.
Mode of Data Collection Self-administered questionnaire: Paper
The questionnaires were mailed to the respondents and collected by visiting their houses.
The respondents were asked to participate in the survey with advance notice that it is a follow-up survey.
Investigator The surveys were organized by the Japanese Life Course Panel Surveys (JLPS) Project, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo.
The surveys were conducted by the Central Research Services, Inc.
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.PM010
Sponsors (Funds) This research was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) (numbers 18103003 and 22223005) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The research was also support by the Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo and the Outsourcing, Inc.
Related Publications (by the Investigator) https://csrda.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/panel/dp/
https://csrda.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/panel/outcome/
Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis)
Documentation [Chosa-hyo]
Major Survey Items (1) Attributes/Job of the respondent
- Gender/birth month and year
- Weekday routine (getting out of bed, going out, returning home, bedtime hours)
- Employment situation: working or not, unemployment situation, unemployed with job seeking intention and state of activities, employment experience
- About current (most recent) occupation and first job: status in the occupation, type of occupation, position, working hours/days, number of working days/weeks or months, description of the employer’s business, company size, process to be hired, period of continuous service (month-year of entry/month-year of resignation or retirement)/place of residence at the time of entry
- Current (most recent) job: commute time, prescribed weekly working hours, existence of an employment contract period/renewal of employment contract, time required to master the current job, immediate intention to continue working (for about 5 years)
- Current (most recent) workplace environment: frequency of overtime, number of employees that were constantly in shortage, pressure of delivery dates, atmosphere of helping each other, atmosphere where seniors teach junior employees, etc.
- Current (most recent) work situation: discretion over one’s own working pace, opportunity to improve vocational ability, work-life balance, possibility of unemployment, etc.

(2) Everyday living
- Lifestyle (frequency): exercising, three meals a day, eating a balanced diet, cup noodles and fast food, cooking meals, laundry, cleaning, shopping, dining with friends, having conversations, using the Internet
- Person to consult: work and study, introduction to work, relationships, debt during unemployment and sickness
- Experience of life events and the age at which you want to experience them in the future: being a regular employee/staff member, separating from parents, getting married, having children
- Experience of major events: parents’ unemployment/divorce/remarriage, failure of one’s own business/unemployment/changing jobs, unmarried cohabitation, divorce, remarriage, bullying, accident, victim of a crime, illness, taking care of a family member, etc.
- Current life circumstances

(3) Family
- Number of family members living together/relationship between each other
- Number of siblings
- Father/mother: age, dead or alive/age of death, working situation, life circumstances
- Children: presence, number of children, birth year, gender, marital status, living together or separately, wanting another child or not, taking care of children on a daily basis/using a care center

(4) About the time when you were 15 years old (when graduating from junior high school)
- Area of residence when you were 15 years old
- Life circumstances
- Grades during 3rd year of junior high school
- Household assets when you were 15 years old/durable consumer goods
- Number of books in the house when you were 15 years old
- Father’s participation in childcare when you were 15 years old
- Home atmosphere when you were 15 years old
- Father’s/mother’s job when you were 15 years old: status in the occupation, type of occupation, position, company size

(5) Last academic background
- Last academic background (you/spouse/father/mother), graduation/dropout and the month and year of those events

(6) Usual health condition
- Your own health condition
- Mental health over the past month (symptoms of depression)/situation of restricted lifestyle and activities
- Smoking amount, alcohol consumption
- Degree of daily physical functions

(7) Awareness and thoughts about various issues
- Satisfaction level: work, married life, friendships, life in general
- Way of thinking about difficulties and problems in life
- Communication skills in everyday work and life/human relations with the surroundings
- Things that apply to you: job you want to do, improvement of vocational ability, present life rather than the future, concerns about adaptation to society, troubles from friends, etc.
- Level of importance: success at work, family life, being rich, close friends, children, stable job
- Stratum identification
- Hopes for the future
- Ideal number of children
-Thoughts about Japanese society: income inequality, academic backgrounds, failure at work and starting another life from scratch, inequality and prosperity in Japan, the origin and status of wealthy families
- Thoughts about marriage/family life: gender roles shared in the household (division of labor based on gender), mother’s child-rearing responsibility, women’s independence and work, view of marriage, free life of married couple and children’s presence, view of divorce
- Opinions on politics: strengthening defense capability, Japan-U.S. security agreements, income inequality and government responsibilities, securing employment through public work projects, enhancing social security/medical care, independence from social welfare
- Degree of likability of political parties/party leaders, support for a party, degree of interest in politics

(8) Housing and assets
- Type of residence
- Housing expenses/monthly payments of mortgage loan
- Date of starting to live in the domicile
- Annual income (yours/spouse/the whole household)
- Source of household income
- Total assets of the household

(9) Marriage
[Married/divorced or death]
- Marital status
- Age of getting married or year
- Spouse’s year of birth
- How did you meet your spouse?
- Frequency of spouse doing housekeeping, etc.: cooking meals, laundry, cleaning the house, shopping for daily necessities/groceries, meals with your spouse, conversation with your spouse
- Job of spouse: status in the occupation, type of occupation, position, working hours/days, working days/weeks or months, schedule of returning home, company size
[Unmarried/separated due to divorce or death]
- Intention of getting married
- Meeting with people of the opposite sex/opportunities: presence of someone (opposite sex) to talk frequently, existence of opportunities to meet people of the opposite sex, breakdown of activities to meet people of the opposite sex
- Whether or not you are dating someone currently/in the past
- Period of dating, intention to continue dating, how you met that person
- Reason for being single now

(10) Image of the future
- The way you hope to work in 10 years’ time, life circumstances in 10 years’ time, etc.

* These public data do not include the variables corresponding to the following question items.
* For details of survey items, please refer to the questionnaire.

[Wave 1] Applicable question items (questionnaire)
- Question 4 <Current job> (8) 1-a
- Question 4 <After graduating from school, first job> (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) 1, 1-a, 2
- Question 15
Date of Release 2010/02/17
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Consumption and consumer behaviour
Income, property and investment/saving
Diet and nutrition
Drug abuse, alcohol and smoking
General health and well-being
Employment
Unemployment
Working conditions
Conflict, security and peace
Political behaviour and attitudes
Equality, inequality and social exclusion
Family life and marriage
Gender and gender roles
Social and occupational mobility
Social conditions and indicators
Topics in SSJDA Society/Culture
Version 1 : 2010-02-17
Notes for Users - If you wish to use variables concerning prefectures of residence, either at the time of survey or when the respondent was at age 15 (Question 15), you must apply for them separately from the viewpoint of confidentiality.

- If you wish to use the above variables, first receive the ordinary dataset and contact the SSJ data archive (ssjda@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp) once you confirm that an application for the restricted data is essential in order to achieve the research purpose.

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- Datasets may be upgraded due to large-scale data correction, etc. Data provided from this data archive comprise Version 1.0. Future corrections will be published in the following URL, so please check it when appropriate and modify your own data.
https://csrda.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/panel/