Main contents start here
Outline of the Survey
Population Enumerated in the Census
(1) Preliminary Counts of the Population
(3) The First Basic Complete Tabulation
(4) The Second Basic Complete Tabulation
(5) The Third Basic Complete Tabulation
(6) Detailed Sample Tabulation
(7) Tabulation on Place of Work or Schooling
(8) Tabulation on Internal Migration
(9) Tabulation for Small Areas
History
The population censuses in Japan have been conducted almost every five years since 1920, the 2000 Population Census being the seventeenth one.
There are two kinds of population censuses: largescale censuses and simplified censuses. The censuses conducted every ten years starting in 1920 were large-scale censuses while the censuses taken in the fifth year after the large-scale decennial censuses were simplified censuses.
The 2000 Population Census was conducted as a large-scale one.
The main difference between a large-scale census and a simplified census is the number of questions asked. During the prewar period, questions of the simplified censuses (1925 and 1935) were limited to the basic characteristics of the population, i.e., name, sex, age, marital status, while the large-scale censuses (1920, 1930 and 1940) covered questions on economic characteristics such as industry and occupation in addition to the basic characteristics of the population.
After World War II, the scale of census-taking was generally amplified so as to satisfy the increased demands from a wider variety of users for the census results.
The large-scale censuses (1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000) covered questions on dwellings, internal migration and education in addition to the basic and economic characteristics of the population.
The simplified censuses (1955, 1965, 1975, 1985 and 1995) covered questions on the basic and economic characteristics of the population and dwellings.
The 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995 censuses had been also conducted in Okinawa-ken since it reverted to Japan on 15 May 1972, as the 47th prefecture of Japan. Before reversion, however, the censuses had been conducted by the U.S. Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands or Government of the Ryukyu Island five times in Okinawa-ken.
Date of the Census
The 2000 Population Census was taken as of 0:00 a.m., 1 October 2000.
Legal Basis of the Census
The 2000 Population Census was conducted in conformity with provisions of Article 4, Clause 2 of the Statistics Law, Cabinet Order for the Population Census (Cabinet Order No.98 of 1980), the Regulation for the Execution of the Population Census (Prime Minister's Office Order No.21 of 1980) and the Prime Minister's Office Order for Instruction for the Establishment of Enumeration Districts for the Population Census (Prime Minister's Office Order No.24 of 1984).
Area Coverage of the Census
The 2000 Population Census covered the whole territory of Japan excluding the following islands in accordance with the Regulation for the Execution of the Population Census mentioned above.
(1) Habomai-gunto, Shikotan-to, Kunashiri-to and Etorofu-to
(2) Take-shima in Goka-mura, Oki-gun Shimane-ken
Population Enumerated in the Census
The 2000 Population Census used what is known as de jure population concept for enumerating the people. That is, a person was enumerated at the place where he or she usually lived, and was counted as the population of the area including the place.
The term "persons usually living" was defined in the census as those persons who had lived or were going to live for three months or more at their respective households at the census date. Persons who had no usual places of living in this sense were enumerated at the places where they were present at the date of the census. There were, however, exceptions to this general rule for the following population groups:
(1) Students and pupils of regular schools as well as those attending special training schools or miscellaneous schools who were living in school dormitories, boarding houses or the like were enumerated at the places where they lived regardless of their period of stay.
(2) Inpatients of hospitals were enumerated in the hospitals only when they had been hospitalized for three months or more at the census date. Otherwise, they were enumerated at their homes even if they were ex-pected to be in the hospital for three months or more.
(3) Crews aboard ships except ships of the Self-Defence Forces were enumerated at their residential places on land, if any. Otherwise, they were enumerated on the ships if the ships were of the Japanese flag and were at anchor at a port of Japan at the census date, or if the ships left a port of Japan before the census date and entered a port of Japan within five days after the census date without calling at any foreign ports.
(4) Residents in the camps of the Self-Defence Forces were enumerated in the camps. Crews aboard ships of the Self-Defence Forces were enumerated at the places of the local general headquarters to which their ships belonged.
(5) Persons in prisons or detention houses whose penalties had been fixed, and inmates of reformatories or women's guidance homes were enumerated at those institutions.
In accordance with the rules described above, all persons living in Japan were enumerated whether they were
foreigners or not. However, the following persons were excluded from the enumeration.
(1) Foreign diplomatic corps, their suite and their dependents
(2) Foreign military personnel including both military corps and civilians, and their dependents
Topics to be surveyed
The 2000 Population Census covered the following topics.
For household members:
(1) Name
(2) Sex
(3) Year and month of birth
(4) Relationship to the household head
(5) Marital status
(6) Nationality
(7) Duration of residency at the current domicile
(8) Place of 5 years previous residence
(9) Education
(10) Type of activity
(11) Hours actually worked during the week
(12) Name of establishment and kind of business (Industry)
(13) Kind of work (Occupation)
(14) Employments status
(15) Place of work or location of school
(16) Transportation to the place of work or the location of school
For households:
(1) Type of household
(2) Number of household members
(3) Source of household income
(4) Type and tenure of dwelling
(5) Area of floor space of dwelling
(6) Type of building and number of stories
Method of the Census
The 2000 Population Census was conducted through the following channel: Management and Coordination Agency - Prefectures (To, Do, Fu and Ken) - Municipalities (Shi, Ku, Machi and Mura) - Supervisors - Enumerators - Households.
Before the census-taking, enumeration districts for the 2000 census were demarcated and mapped. The enumeration districts numbered about 940,000 were delineated to comprise 50 households per enumeration district on the average and each enumeration district was in general demarcated by combining some of basic unit blocks. The basic unit blocks were set up in the 1990 Population Census as units of area for permanent use.
Enumeration was done as follows. About 830,000 enumerators who were specially appointed for the 2000 Population Census by Director-General of the Management and Coordination Agency delivered questionnaires to each household and requested the household head to fill out each item. After the census date, they again visited every household to collect the questionnaires.
In the 2000 Population Census, the mark-sheet type questionnaires printed on both sides and designed for four individuals to report on one sheet were used separately for each household.
For the households which were not canvassed due to their absence from home during the period of census-taking, the enumerator filled out name, sex and number of household members on the questionnaires through interviews with neighbours.
Tabulation and Publication
The tabulated results are released in reports and CD-ROMs by the Statistics Bureau. The reports containing the principal results are published approximately one month after the release. The tabulation and publication are scheduled as follows.
(1) Preliminary Counts of the Population
As the first release of the census results, the preliminary counts of the population by sex and of households for the whole country, prefectures and municipalities (i.e. shi, ku, machi and mura) were announced in the official gazette of the government on 22 December 2000. And a report entitled "Prompt Tabulation Series No.1, Preliminary Counts of the Population on the Basis of Summary Sheets" was published in December 2000.
These preliminary counts are based on the entries on the summary sheets which are prepared by the prefectural and municipal governments to ascertain the number of persons and households enumerated in the respective enumeration districts under their jurisdiction.
(2) Prompt Sample Tabulation
The tabulation by using sample households is carried out to offer prompt results on the basic characteristics of population and households including sex, age, labour force status, industrial and occupational structure, place of work or schooling. The sampling ratio for this tabulation is about one percent.
The results were released in June 2001 and a report entitled "Prompt Tabulation Series No.2, 2000 Population Census of Japan, Results of Prompt Sample Tabulation" was published.
(3) The First Basic Complete Tabulation
In the 2000 Population Census, the complete tabulation is performed in three stages. The first basic complete tabulation includes statistics on the basic characteristics of population and households, and statistics on aged persons household, for the whole country, prefectures and municipalities.
The results of this tabulation for each prefecture and municipality are released by October 2001, successively, prefecture by prefecture, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 2-2-xx : Sex, Age and Marital Status of Population, Structure and Housing Conditions of Households" (compiled separately for each of 47 prefectures; xx represents a prefectural code.) are published. The results for the whole country are released in December 2001. and the report entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 2-1: Sex, Age and Marital Status of Population, Structure and Housing Conditions of Households" is published.
At this stage, the report entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 1: Total Population" which contains the population and area of each municipality as well as those of each prefecture, the whole country and each Densely Inhabited District is published in January 2002.
(4) The Second Basic Complete Tabulation
The tabulation at this stage includes basic statistics on labour force status of population and industry of employed persons for the whole country, prefectures and municipalities.
The results of this tabulation for each prefecture and municipality are released by January 2002, successively, prefecture by prefecture, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 3-2-xx : Labour Force Status of Population, Industry (Major Groups) of Employed Persons, and Education" (compiled separately for each of 47 prefectures) are published.
The results for the whole country are released in January 2002 and the report entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 3-1 : Labour Force Status of Population, Industry (Major Groups) of Employed Persons, and Education" is published.
(5) The Third Basic Complete Tabulation
The tabulation at this stage includes basic statistics on occupational structure of employed persons and on mother-child(ren) households and father-child(ren) households for the whole country, prefectures and municipalities.
The results of the third basic complete tabulation for each prefecture and municipality are released by February 2003, successively, prefecture by prefecture, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 4-2-xx : Occupation (Major Groups) of Employed Persons, Types of Household" (compiled separately for each of 47 prefectures) are published. The results for the whole country are released in March 2003, and the report entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 4-1 : Occupation (Major Groups) of Employed Persons, Types of Household" is published.
(6) Detailed Sample Tabulation
The detailed sample tabulation is carried out to provide more detailed tables for the whole country, prefectures and municipalities. In this tabulation included are statistics based on detailed classifications of industry and occupation of employed persons.
The results of this tabulation for each prefecture and municipality are released by May 2004, successively, prefecture by prefecture, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 5-2-xx : Industry (Minor Groups) and Occupation (Minor Groups) of Employed Persons (Sample Tabulation Results)" (compiled separately for each of 47 prefectures) are published.
The results for the whole country are released in June 2004 and the report entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 5-1 : Industry (Minor Groups) and Occupation (Minor Groups) of Employed Persons (Sample Tabulation Results)" is published.
(7) Tabulation on Place of Work or Schooling
The tabulation on place of work or schooling is designed to provide statistics on the daily movement of workers and students commuting between their homes and places of work or schooling and economic characteristics of commuters. The results of this tabulation are also used to calculate the daytime population in each municipality to be compared with each nighttime population, that is, the de jure population.
The tabulation on commuting population is carried out in three stages.
( i ) The first stage of the tabulation on commuting population is performed immediately after the completion of the first and second basic complete tabulation. This includes statistics on the basic characteristics of population except occupation of employed persons by the place of work or schooling. The results are released by March 2002, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 6-1 Part1 : Population by Place of Work or Schooling I, Sex and Age of Population, Industry (Major Groups) of Employed Persons" and "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 6-1 Part2 : Population by Place of Work or Schooling I, Sex and Age of Population, Industry (Major Groups) of Employed Persons" (compiled separately for each of 47 prefectures) are published.
( ii ) The second stage of the tabulation on commuting population is carried out after the completion of the third basic complete tabulation.
The tabulation at this stage includes the results on the occupational structure of employed persons by the place of work. The results are released by May 2003, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 6-2 : Population by Place of Work or Schooling II, Occupation (Major Groups) of Employed Persons" (6 separate books) are published.
( iii ) The third stage is conducted after the completion of the detailed sample tabulation to obtain statistics concerning detailed industry and occupation of commuters. The results are released by July 2004, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 6-3 : Population by Place of Work or Schooling III, Industry (Medium Groups) and Occupation (Medium Groups) of Employed Persons (Sample Tabulation Results)" (6 separate books) are published.
(8) Tabulation on Internal Migration
The tabulation on internal migration is scheduled to provide statistics concerning the number, direction and characteristics of those who changed usual place of residence.
The tabulation on internal migration will be carried out in two stages.
( i ) The first stage of the tabulation on internal migration is performed immediately after the completion of the first and second basic complete tabulation. The tabulation at this stage aims at clarifying mobility of population, that is, a change in usual place of residence and characteristics of migrants except occupation.
The results are released in April 2002, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 7-1 Part1 : Population on Internal Migration I, Basic Characteristics, Labour Force Status, Industry (Major Groups), and Education" and "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 7-1 Part2 : Population on Internal Migration I, Basic Characteristics, Labour Force Status, Industry (Major Groups), and Education" (compiled separately for each of 47 prefectures) are published.
( ii ) The second stage of the tabulation on internal migration is carried out in the same way after the completion of the third basic complete tabulation. The tabulation at this stage aims at clarifying mobility of population, that is, a change in usual place of residence and migrants by occupation.
The results are released in June 2003, and the reports entitled "2000 Population Census of Japan, Volume 7-2 : Population on Internal Migration II, Occupation" are published.
(9) Tabulation for Small Areas
The fundamental results are tabulated by such small areas as subdivision of municipalities by cho and aza.
The results based on the first basic complete tabulation, the second basic complete tabulation, the third basic complete tabulation, the tabulation on place of work or schooling and the tabulation on internal migration become available after the release of the results of the corresponding tabulation for prefectures and municipalities.
