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Outline of the Survey
Purpose of the Census
The population census in Japan have been conduced almost every five years since 1920, the 2005 Population Census being the eighteenth one.
Data of the Census
The 2005 Population Census was taken as of 0:00 a.m., October 1, 2005.
Legal Basis of the Census
The 2005 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 Rules for the Execution of the Population Census (Prime Minister?s Office Order No.21 of 1980), and the Ministerial Ordinance 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 2005 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 Okinoshima-cho, Oki-gun, Shimane-ken
Population Enumerated in the Census
The 2005 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 expected 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 2005 Population Census covered 17 topics: 12 topics for household members such as ?Sex? and ?Year and month of birth? and 5 topics for households such as ?Type of household? and ?Number of household members?.
Method of the Census
The 2005 Population Census was conducted through the following channel: Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Prefectures (To, Do, Fu, and Ken) - Municipalities (Shi, Ku, Machi, and Mura) - Supervisors - Enumerators - Households. Enumeration was done as follows. About 830,000 enumerators who were specially appointed for the 2005 Population Census by the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications delivered questionnaires to each household. After the census date, they again visited every household to collect the questionnaires.
Tabulation and Publication
The National Statistics Center, Incorporated Administrative Agency, takes charge of the whole tabulation of the census results. 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.
