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Definitions of Terms

February 26, 2003

1. Terms Concerning Household
2. Number of Tabulated Households, Specific Households and Households with Aged Persons
3. Classification of Geographical Areas
4. Groups by Income, Savings, etc.
5. Characteristics and Classification of Dwellings
6. Classification of Receipts and Disbursements and Tabulated Items
7. Classification of Living Expenditure
8. Imputed Rent for Owned Houses
9. Amount of Savings and Liabilities
10. Coverage and Details of Major Durable Goods
11. Types of Purchase Places
12. Calculation Formulas

Appendix 1. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities

Appendix 2. Items Classified in Expenses for Education and in Expenses for Reading and Recreation

Appendix 3. Classification of Occupation of the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure

 I. Terms Concerning Household

1. Definitions of Household and Household head

In this survey, households are divided into two-or-more-person households and one-person households. Total households are the sum of these two groups. Two-or-more-person households are defined as a group of two or more persons sharing dwelling and living expenses. One-person households refer to persons living by himself (herself), persons living with ordinary household but keeping an independent budget, or individual persons residing in a dormitory, boarding house or lodging house.
Household head is not a person nominally so called, but one earning the substantial income of the household.

2. Number of Household Members and Number of Earners

Number of household members refers to the number of persons in a household, including household head and family members as well as domestic helpers sharing residence and living expenses and live-in employees. Excluded are family members who live separately and persons who live in a household but do not share living expenses.
Earners refer to members of a household who are employed, self-employed, family workers and home-workers. Domestic helpers sharing residence and live-in employees are not counted in the number of earners.

3. All Households, Workers' Households and Other Households

Workers' households refer to the households whose heads are employed in companies, governments, schools, factories, shops etc. The households whose heads are executives of companies or corporations, however, are classified as other households.
Other households refer to the households other than workers' households.
All households are the sum of the workers' and the other households.
Characteristics of households are surveyed as of 1st September 1999 (one-person households are surveyed as of 1st October 1999), but any changes occured during the survey period were reflected in the tabulation, regarded as being taken place on 1st October or on 1st November depending on the time of these changes.
Details of the classification of households are shown in "Appendix 3. Classification of Occupation of the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure".

4. Occupation of Household Heads

The occupational classification used in this survey is unique in the sense that it is based on a combination of occupation, industry and employment status. It differs from the Japan Standard Occupational Classification. Details are shown in "Appendix 3. Classification of Occupation of the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure".

5. Family Composition

Family composition refers to a classification based on the relationship to the household head. It groups households in three types; "Nuclear family", "Households of couple and parents" and "Households of couple, children and parents". The first group is consisted of "a married couple only", "a married couple and unmarried children" or "one parent and unmarried children". The unmarried children are further break-downed according to the number of children and the age of the eldest child and his or her school attendance.

6. Earners' Composition

This is a classification based on whether household head, his (or her) spouse or other members have a job or not.

 II. Number of Tabulated Households, Specific Households and Households with Aged Persons

1. Number of tabulated households, distribution of households (based on the adjusted sampling ratio) and 1/10000 ratio

Number of tabulated households is the actual number of households tabulated. Distribution of households (based on the adjusted sampling ratio) is the number of the households multiplied by the adjusting coefficient, which is proportionate to the reciprocal of the sampling ratio. This is so adjusted in order to obtain unbiased estimates as sampling ratios differ from one city, town and village to another. The distribution of one-person households in the 1999 survey (upon adjustment of sampling ratios) is equal to the product of multiplication of the tabulated number of households by the adjusting coefficient and the ratio estimate ratio (i.e., the coefficient for correction of bias in the distribution of household attributes in respect of district, sex, and age group, based on the results of the Labor Force Survey). In the tabulation of total households, the distribution of households (two-or-more-person households and one-person households) is equal to the product of multiplication of the tabulated number of households by the adjusting coefficient and the ratio estimate ratio. It is noted that tabulation is made so that the number of survey months, which may be different according to household, is adjusted for each household.
Ratio of 1/10000 shows the distribution of households (based on adjusting sampling ratio) where the number of households is assumed to equal to 10,000. In "Statistical Tables V. Distribution of Households", the adjusted number of households is assumed to equal to 100,000.

2. Specific Households (Statistical Tables 8 in II. Expenditure on Commodities, 1~2 in V. Distribution of Households, VI. Specific Households, and 25~35 in X. Family Assets)

The specific households which are tabulated in this survey are as follows.

(1) Dual-income households ? ? ? ? households which are classified as workers' households and whose head and his (or her) spouse have their own jobs. However, the households with income from agriculture, forestry and fisheries are excluded.

(2) Household head not working ? ? ? ? household head has no occupation. However, the households of the main householder living away from home are excluded.

(3) Households of mother and children ? ? ? ? households with mother and children of less than 18 years of age. However, the households of the main householder living away from home are excluded.

(4) Households repaying housing loans ? households having no housing loans ? ? ? ? households possessing loans of more than 10,000 yen for purchasing houses and/or land as of November 30, 1999 in any houses and not possessing in owned houses.

(5) Households living rented houses and rooms

(6) A married couple and unmarried children, of which household head is the sole earner ? ? ? ? households which are classified as workers' households, and consist of a married couple and one or more children and with head as the only one earner.

(7) Married couple only or married couple and unmarried children ? ? ? ? households consist of married couple only or married couple and unmarried children only, of which household head is husband or wife

(8) Other specific households ? ? ? ? "households with members of not working and seeking work", "households with university or college students", "households owing cars", "households with members away from home" and "households having income from agriculture, forestry and fisheries or having acreage under cultivation".

3. Households with Aged Persons (Statistical Tables 8 in II. Expenditure on Commodities, 1~2 in V. Distribution of Households, and VII. Households with Aged Persons)

The households with aged persons which are tabulated in this survey are as follows.

(1) Households receiving annuities and pensions ? ? ? ? "households receiving public annuities and pensions", "households living mainly on public annuities and pensions", "households receiving company and private pensions", and "households living mainly on company and private pensions".

(2) Households with aged persons ? ? ? ? "households with members not working 65 years old and over", "households with aged couple (household comprising an aged couple only: husband is 65 years old and over and wife is 60 years old and over; both 65 years old and over)", and "households comprising an aged couple only (husband 60 years old and over)".

 III. Classification of Geographical Areas

1. City Group

Cities are grouped according to the size of population of each city, town and village based on the 1995 Population Census results. The name of each municipality was based on that of 1st January 1999. The groups are as follows.

• Major cities ? ? ? ? Cities with one million or more inhabitants which included Sapporo-shi, Ku-area of Tokyo, Yokohama-shi, Kawasaki-shi, Nagoya-shi, Kyoto-shi, Osaka-shi, Kobe-shi, Hiroshima-shi, Kitakyushu-shi and Fukuoka-shi.
• Middle cities ? ? ? ? Cities with 150,000 or more inhabitants but less than one million (127 cities).
• Small cities A ? ? ? ? Cities with 50,000 or more inhabitants but less than 150,000 (309 cities).
• Small cities B ? ? ? ? Cities with less than 50,000 inhabitants (224 cities).
• Towns and villages ? ? ? ? (471 towns and villages).
• Cities with population of 50,000 or more ? ? ? ? Cities consisting of major cities, middle cities and small cities A (447 cities).
• All cities ? ? ? ? Cities consisting of those with 50,000 or more inhabitants and those of small cities B (671 cities).

2. Districts

Districts are classified into ten by grouping prefectures. They are as follows.

• Hokkaido district ? ? ? ? Hokkaido.
• Tohoku district ? ? ? ? Aomori-ken, Iwate-ken, Miyagi-ken, Akita-ken, Yamagata-ken and Fukushima-ken.
• Kanto district ? ? ? ? Ibaraki-ken, Tochigi-ken, Gumma-ken, Saitama-ken, Chiba-ken, Tokyo-to, Kanagawa-ken, Yamanashi-ken and Nagano-ken.
• Hokuriku district ? ? ? ? Niigata-ken, Toyama-ken, Ishikawa-ken and Fukui-ken.
• Tokai district ? ? ? ? Gifu-ken, Shizuoka-ken, Aichi-ken and Mie-ken.
• Kinki district ? ? ? ? Shiga-ken, Kyoto-fu, Osaka-fu, Hyogo-ken, Nara-ken and Wakayama-ken.
• Chugoku district ? ? ? ? Tottori-ken, Shimane-ken, Okayama-ken, Hiroshima-ken and Yamaguchi-ken.
• Shikoku district ? ? ? ? Tokushima-ken, Kagawa-ken, Ehime-ken and Kochi-ken.
• Kyushu district ? ? ? ? Fukuoka-ken, Saga-ken, Nagasaki-ken, Kumamoto-ken, Oita-ken, Miyazaki-ken and Kagoshima-ken.
• Okinawa district ? ? ? ? Okinawa-ken.

3. Major Metropolitan Areas

Major metropolitan areas refer to the regions consisting of the "designated cities by the Cabinet Order" as the core and surrounding municipalities which are closely associated with the designated cities socially and economically. They are Keihinyo Metropolitan Area the core cities being Ku-area of Tokyo, Yokohama-shi, Kawasaki-shi and Chiba-shi; Chukyo Metropolitan Area the core cities being Nagoya-shi; Keihanshin Metropolitan Area the core cities being Kyoto-shi, Osaka-shi and Kobe-shi; and Kitakyushu and Fukuoka Metropolitan Area the core cities being Kitakyushu-shi and Fukuoka-shi. Keihin Metropolitan Area the core cities being Ku-area of Tokyo, Yokohama-shi and Kawasaki-shi are re-grouped.
Establishment of the major metropolitan areas is based on the criteria adopted in the 1995 Population Census. These are as follows:

(1)  The core cities are the designated cities by the Cabinet Order and Ku-area of Tokyo.

(2)  The surrounding municipalities are those where the number of commuting population to one of the core cities accounts for at least 1.5 percent of the resident population of each municipality, and each municipality is adjoining one of the core cities.
Any municipalities surrounded by those satisfying the above criterion are also counted as such even though the commuting population rate is less than 1.5 percent.

(3)  In the case where the core cities are close one another, these formed one metropolitan area together with the surrounding municipalities.

It is noted that three Major Metropolitan Areas refer to Keihinyo, Chukyo and Keihanshin Metropolitan Areas.

4. Municipality Groups within Prefectures

Municipality groups (economic regions) within prefectures are regional classification sets for this survey to get detail data on family expenditure in smaller regional unit than prefecture. Each group consists of neighboring cities, wards, towns and villages within prefecture.

 IV. Groups by Income, Savings, etc.

1. Income Groups

Yearly income groups refer to the yearly income for December 1998 to November 1999 on the basis of the data obtained from "Yearly Income and Savings Questionnaire". In the case of the yearly income unreported, it was estimated according to occupation of household head, living expenditure, age of household head and the number of earners. In Statistical Tables "III. Major Durable Goods" and "IV. Savings and Liabilities", however, the yearly income unreported was left unestimated.
Monthly income groups such as money income groups and groups of regular wages and salaries of household heads used in workers' households are based on the average of the income or the regular wages and salaries for three months from September to November 1999 in case of two-or-more-person households.

2. Income Decile Groups, Income Quintile Groups and Quartiles (median)

Yearly income decile groups are obtained by arranging households according to the order of their yearly income from lower to higher and dividing them in ten equal groups. From lower to higher income groups, they are termed the first decile group, the second decile group, the third decile group and so on.
Yearly income quintile groups are obtained by putting together every two decile groups from lower to higher so that the number of the groups yields five. Each of the groups is termed the first quintile group, the second quintile group, the third quintile group and so on.
Quartiles refer to a value of the point where any one-quarter of the households arranged in the order of values of any items adjoin the next one-quarter. From lower to higher values, they are termed the first quartile, the second quartile and the third quartile. The second quartile is called "median".

3. Groups According to the Total Amount of Savings and Liabilities

Grouping according to the total amount of savings, liabilities, and liabilities of housing loans is made on the basis of the data obtained from the "Yearly Income and Savings Questionnaire".

 V. Characteristics and Classification of Dwellings

1. Type of Tenure of Dwellings

A criterion to make distinction between "Rented houses, privately owned (facilities used exclusively)" and "Rented houses, privately owned (facilities shared)" is based on the use of kitchen sinks and toilets the former type uses these facilities exclusively and the latter shares either of these facilities or both.
"Dormitories" for one-person households are defined as dwellings which are owned or managed by companies, governments or corporations for their employees and where one-person households not sharing living expenses live in a group. "Dwellings provided by employer" are the rest of any types of the issued dwelling houses other than dormitories.

2. Type of Buildings

"Joint houses" refer to edifices where there are two or more residences and which share corridors or steps, or buildings containing two or more houses vertically constructed.

3. Total Floor Spaces

Total floor spaces denote the total floor areas of houses and attached rooms. In the case of common houses such as apartment houses, company's houses, etc. where corridors, kitchens or toilets are shared, the total floor spaces cover only the spaces exclusively used by the household concerned with the exclusion of the shared spaces.
Spaces used for business such as for offices and shops are excluded.

4. Land area of Dwelling Houses

Land area of dwelling houses is site on which houses are built, land which is housing lot on the register though is vacant lot or farm at present and land on which houses will be built in the future though is forest, field and farm land on the register

 VI. Classification of Receipts and Disbursements and Tabulated Items

1. Classification of Receipts and Disbursements

"Receipts" is classified into three major categories: "income", "receipts other than income" and "carry-over from previous month".
"Income" refers to the increase in assets, such as wages and salaries, income through business and homework, returns from assets, social security benefits and so forth.
"Receipts other than income" refers to the decrease in assets or the increase in debts, such as saving deposits cashed, securities sold, loans and monthly installments.
"Carry-over from previous month" refers to the amount of cash on hand at the beginning of the month.
"Disbursements" is divided into four categories: "living expenditure" (which is, what is called, living cost), "non-living expenditure" (deductions from receipts such as taxes, social insurance and so forth), "disbursements other than expenditure" (the increase in assets or decrease in liabilities such as savings and debt payments) and "carry-over to next month" (the amount of cash on hand at the end of month). The summation of "living expenditure" and "non-living expenditure" is called "expenditure".
As for details, refer to "Appendix 1. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities".
The above statement can be summarized as follows:
Disbursements = Living expenditure + Non-living expenditure + Disbursements other than expenditure + Carry-over to next month
Receipts = Income + Receipts other than income + Carry-over from previous month
where,
Receipts = Disbursements

2. Transfered Income and Transfered Expenditure (regrouped)

Transfered income is what gifts and remittance are regrouped. Transfered expenditure is what money gifts and remittance are regrouped.

3. In Cash and in Kind

Receipts and disbursements are classified according to whether they are made in cash or in kind. In the statistical tables, the balance in cash is classified according to the details, but the balance in kind is tabulated only for the total amount.
About "in kind", gifts from the outside are classified "income in kind (gifts)" and "expenditure in kind (gifts)" as they occur simultaneous.
In the surveys from 1959 to 1984, "income and expenditure in kind" included "allowance in kind", "home products" and "commercial products" besides "gifts".
In 1969 and 1974 surveys, "income in kind" and "expenditure in kind" included "imputed rent for owned houses", but they don't include it after 1979 survey.

4. Installment Purchases and Credit Purchases

"Installment purchases" and "credit purchases" are tabulated in the following way.
Suppose a purchase is made of a color television set priced at 80,000 yen which is to be paid in installments of 8,000 yen a month for 10 months. When the TV set is received with the first payment of 8,000 yen in a certain month, recording for the month is done by entering its price (80,000 yen) in the item "installment, credit purchases" in "receipts other than income" and also the same amount in the item "recreational durable goods (TV sets)" in "living expenditure". At the same time, the first payment of 8,000 yen is recorded in the item "installment and credit purchase payments" in "disbursements other than expenditure" for the respective month.
Credit purchases are processed in a similar way.

 VII. Classification of Living Expenditure

1. Classification by Use and by Commodities

Living expenditure is classified according to use as well as by commodities. In use classification, expenditures on commodities are classified according to purpose of their purchase or uses. In commodity classification, they are classified according to the kind of commodities purchased irrespective of their use. For example, cakes bought for gifts are classified, in use classification, into "social expenses" in "other living expenditure", but in the commodity classification, they are classified in "cakes and candies" in "food".
In this survey, the use classification differs from the commodity classification only with regard to "social expenses". In all cases, however, the total living expenditure according to the use classification and commodity classification are identical.
As for details, refer to "Appendix 1. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities".

2. Classification of Expenditure Groups

"Ten major expenditure groups" refers to the classification of living expenditure, dividing into ten categories by purpose on usage, that is "food", "housing", "fuel, light and water charges", "furniture and household utensils", "clothes and footwear", "medical care", "transportation and communication", "education", "reading and recreation" and "other living expenditure".

3. Expenses for Education (regrouped)

Not only "education" but also expenditure needed directly or indirectly for education such as school lunch, school uniforms, student's season tickets, etc. are regrouped. As for details, refer to "Appendix 2. Items Classified in Expenses for Education and in Expenses for Reading and Recreation".

4. Expenses for Reading and Recreation (regrouped)

This group is regrouped in order to clarify the structural changes in expenditures relating to leisure.
The following expenses are classified into this group in addition to "reading and recreation"; railway fares, bus fares, airplane fares, etc.
As for details, refer to "Appendix 2. Items Classified in Expenses for Education and in Expenses for Reading and Recreation".

5. Current living expenditure (regrouped)

Current living expenditure conceptually corresponds to daily expenditure excluding the items of expensive and less-frequently purchase (for example the purchase of automobiles or electrical appliances). The purpose of set for this expenditure group is to obtain stable data on regions with small sample size or groups of specific households.
As for details, refer to "Appendix 1. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities".

6. Classification by Goods and Services

In this classification, expenditure is divided into "Goods" and "Services". Furthermore, as for goods, they are classified according to their durability. The following expenses are excluded from this classification; "pocket money", "money gifts", "other social expenses" and "remittance". As for details, refer to "Appendix 1. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities".

 VIII. Imputed Rent for Owned Houses

The term "imputed rent for owned houses" refers to the rent for self-owned housing (privately owned homes) that would accrue if receipts and payments of rents were actually taking place. It is obtained by assuming that the same services are generated and consumed as in the case of a rental house or room and evaluating this amount in terms of the general market price.

Method of Estimating the Imputed Rent for Owned Houses

To estimate the imputed rent for owned houses, individual data for private rental houses (with exclusive use of facilities) were derived from the Housing and Land Survey conducted in October 1998, and Japan was divided into 4 regional blocks (Tokyo, the 3 Kanto area prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, the 3 Kansai area prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo, and other prefectures). Then a regression equation was developed using the regional group within each regional block, structure of dwelling (construction material), availability of facilities such as bathroom and flush toilet, time of construction, and total floor space as explanatory variables for each regional block, and a coefficient was determined using the method of least-squares.

Next, a household living in a self-owned house was taken from the households surveyed in the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure and its regional group within each regional block and housing characteristics were fitted into the regression equation to obtain the estimated amount of rent. This value, multiplied with the October 1999 year-on-year change for the same month (index for October 1999 / index for October 1998) of "house rent, private" according to the national Consumer Price Index, was taken as the imputed rent of that household.

 IX. Amount of Savings and Liabilities

1. Coverage and Content of Savings and Liabilities Covered by the Survey

Total amount of savings is the sum of deposits to post offices, banks and other financial institutions; premiums for life insurance and damage insurance; securities including stocks and shares, bonds, trusts, etc.; deposits at non-financial institutions such as companies.
As for savings, in the case of life insurance and damage insurance, the amount of savings denotes the accumulated total of the premiums paid since the insurance became effective, while in the case of stocks and shares, it is a value of market price. In the case of bonds, loan trust and money in trust, it is a face value. Damage insurance was included in the savings from the 1989 survey, and gold investment account and gold saving account from the 1994 survey.

Total amount of liabilities is the sum of the money borrowed not only from financial institutions such as post offices, banks, life insurance companies, Housing Loan Corporation, etc., but also from the companies persons work for, employment's mutual associations, relatives and acquaintances, outstanding balance of monthly or yearly installments, etc.

Amount of savings and liabilities are obtained from the results based on "Yearly Income and Savings Questionnaire", which is surveyed as of the end of November 1999. Amount of savings and liabilities and the rate of outstanding liabilities of "Statistical Tables I. Income and Expenditure" are not necessarily equal to those of "Statistical Tables IV. Savings and Liabilities", since the latter included in its tabulation all the households which submitted the acceptable "Yearly Income and Savings Questionnaire", while the former excluded from its tabulation the households which did not submit "Family Account Book". The results of "Statistical Tables X. Family Assets" are not necessary equal to those of "Statistical Tables I. Income and Expenditure" or "Statistical Tables IV. Savings and Liabilities" for the same reason.

2. Details and Remarks of Savings and Liabilities

 X. Coverage and Details of Major Durable Goods

1. Coverage of durable goods

2. Durable Goods in Need of Some Comments

 XI. Types of Purchase Places

The types of purchase places used in "Statistical Tables II. Expenditure on Commodities" are classified as follows:

(1) Retail store: Ordinary retails stores, excluding supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores, cooperative stores and discount stores.

(2) Supermarket: Stores with floor space of 100 square meters or more, where a self-service system is adopted in at least one-half of the floor space. They operate for 12 hours or less, or usually close before 9 p.m.

(3) Convenience store: Stores with a self-service system at least one-half of the floor space. They operate for 12 hours and longer and usually closed after 9 p.m.

(4) Department store: Stores with 50 or more regular employees, which sell various kinds of commodities.

(5) Cooperative store: Stores managed by a group of citizens for their own benefit. Also included here are stores managed by companies or government agencies for the benefit of their employees.

(6) Discount store: Stores that sell commodities with discount prices. Included are mass selling stores which deal with electric appliances, men's clothes, etc.

(7) Mail-order selling: Commodities are advertised in newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, catalogues, internet and so forth, and sent to consumers who order them by mail, telephone, internet, etc.

(8) Others: Stores other than those mentioned above: for instance, wholesale stores, stands in stations or theaters, street stalls, peddles, etc. Vending machines are included here.

 XII. Calculation Formulas

1. Disposable income
   Income - Non-living expenditure
2. Average propensity to consume
   (Living expenditure / Disposable income) * 100
3. Ratio of net increase of current assets to disposable income
   ((Savings - Saving deposits cashed) + (Insurance premium payments - Insurance proceeds) + (Security purchases - Securities sold)) / Disposable income * 100
4. Ratio of savings to disposable income
   ((Savings - Saving deposits cashed) + (Insurance premium payments - Insurance proceeds)) / Disposable income * 100
5. Engel's coefficient
   (Expenditure for food / Living expenditure) * 100
6. Percentages of households with income or expenditure concerned
   (The number of households with income or expenditure concerned (sampling ratio adjusted) / The number of tabulated households (sampling ratio adjusted)) * 100
7. Percentages of households holding liabilities
   (The number of households holding liabilities (sampling ratio adjusted) / The number of tabulated households (sampling ratio adjusted)) * 100
8. Rate of owned houses
   (The number of households residing in "Owned houses" (sampling ratio adjusted) / The number of tabulated households (sampling ratio adjusted)) * 100
9. Percentages of households paying rent
   (The number of households paying "house and land rents" (sampling ratio adjusted) / The number of tabulated households (sampling ratio adjusted)) * 100

 Appendix 1. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities

1. For living expenditure, the commodity classification is shown in this table. As mentioned in the "Definitions of Terms", receipts and disbursements are first classified according to whether payments are made in cash or in kind. Then, the living expenditure in cash is classified in two ways according to the use and the commodity classifications.
2. In the "Classifications by goods and services" D: Durable goods, SD: Semi-durable goods, ND: Non-durable goods, S: Service.
3. In the "Current living expenditure", "O" shows the item included in current living expenditure.

Table. Receipts and Disbursements Classified by Commodities(Excel:881KB) (formatted on excel file)

 Appendix 2. Items Classified in Expenses for Education and in Expenses for Reading and Recreation

 Appendix 3. Classification of Occupation of the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure

Note: Category of household is classified by occupation of household head.

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