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II. Major Durable Goods Ownership by Characteristics of Households
1. Major durable goods ownership by age of household heads
(1) Age-related ownership quantities differences
Looking at ownership quantities by the household head?s age group, those in their 40s owned more recreational durable goods (such as desks for study, stereo sets or CD/MD radio cassette recorders, and video tape recorders, as well as system kitchens) than those in other age groups.
Those in their 50s owned more color TVs, chests of drawers, cars, and ?Kotatsu? electric heaters than those in other age groups.
Those in their 60s owned more toilet stool covers with warm water cleaners than those in other age groups.
Those in their 70 years or older owned more ordinary furniture items such as cupboards/cabinets, chests of drawers for ?Kimono,? and tables, Japanese style than those in other age groups.
There were no consumer durables that those in age groups under 40 years old had more of than those in other age groups.
Microwave ovens and rice cookers also had high ownership rates and for the types of consumer durables that every household has one of there was no greatly discernible difference in ownership quantities among age groups. (Table II-1)
Table II-1 Consumer Durable Ownership Quantities per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons
by Age of the Head of the Household
(2) IT and communications-related consumer durables
Compared to ownership quantities of IT and communications-related consumer durables in 1999, cellular phone and personal computer ownership quantities increased in all age groups and the rate of increase were especially high for those in the 60 and above brackets.
Cellular phones were most common among those in their 50s in 1999, but those in their 40s owned the most in 2004, with 2,381, and ownership exceeded 1,000 for all age groups under 70.
Personal computer ownership rate was the highest among those in their 40s in both 1999 and 2004 (1,256 in 2004). (Figure II-1)
Figure II-1 IT and Communications-Related Consumer Durable Ownership Quantities per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons by Age of the Head of the Household
(3) Cars
Looking at car ownership quantities by age of the household heads, those in their 50s had the most with 1,781, followed by 1,549 for those in their 40s, and 1,423 for those in their 60s.
In terms of home manufactured car types, light cars (displacement of 660 cc or under) and small cars (661-2000 cc) in the home manufactured cars were most common among those in their 50s, ordinary cars (2001 cc and over) among those in their 40s, and imports among those in their 30s.
Light car ownership quantities increased among all age groups compared to 1999. Imported car ownership quantities also increased in every age group excluding those under 30 years old. (Table II-2)
Table II-2 Ownership Quantities and Rate of Increase/Decrease per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons by Age of the Head of the Household and Car Type
2. Major durable goods ownership by yearly income quintiles
Looking at major durable goods ownership by yearly income quintiles, ownership quantities in all categories generally rose the higher the yearly income bracket. Seen by the disparities between groups I and V (group V?s ownership quantities ratios compared to those of group I), the largest was for imported cars, with group V?s 112 cars which was 5.89 times that of group I?s 19. Next were pianos (3.56 times), followed by golf club sets (3.36 times), and unit furniture (3.07 times), with disparities greater the more comparatively expensive the durable goods.
On the other hand, the smallest difference was the 1.10 times for washing machines, with 1,048 for group I and 1,155 for group V. Rice cookers were next at 1.11 times, followed by cupboards/cabinets (1.12 times), microwave ovens (1.12 times), and refrigerators (1.21 times), with smaller disparities among everyday household durables. (Table II-3)
Table II-3 Major Durable Goods Ownership Quantities per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons by Yearly Income Quintiles
III. Major Durable Goods Ownership by Region
