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News Bulletin

RECENT RELEASE

Results of the 2011 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities - Time Use from Questionnaire A -

   The SBJ conducted the 2011 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities in October 2011, and released the results concerning time use in September 2012.

   The survey aims to obtain comprehensive data on people's time allocation and leisure activities, and has been conducted every five years since 1976. The 2011 Survey was conducted as of October 20, 2011, using two questionnaires, A and B. The survey covered approximately 200,000 persons aged 10 and above in 83,000 households which were randomly selected from the Enumeration Districts of the 2005 Population Census.

   The following is an outline of the results for Time Use from Questionnaire A.

[Overview]

   Looking at the daily time use (average daily hours a week; hereinafter referred to as "weekly average") of people living in Japan aged 10 and above, one can see that on average they spent 10 hours 40 minutes on primary activities¹⁾, 6 hours 53 minutes on secondary activities²⁾ and 6 hours 27 minutes on tertiary activities³⁾.

   Compared to 2006, the average time spent on primary activities increased by 3 minutes, secondary activities decreased by 7 minutes, and tertiary activities increased by 4 minutes.

Time use for each kind of activity by sex (2006, 2011)--weekly average

[Sleep]

   The average sleep time was 7 hours 42 minutes. Males spent 7 hours 49 minutes, and females 7 hours 36 minutes. Males slept 13 minutes longer on average.

   Compared to 2006, sleep time remained unchanged. Broken down by age group, sleep time marginally increased in persons aged 15 to 44 and decreased slightly in those aged 45 and over (when compared to 2006).

Sleep time by age group (2006, 2011)--weekly average

[Working by working persons]

   The average time spent on Working by working persons (aged 15 and above) in a day was 6 hours 2 minutes: 6 hours 56 minutes for males and 4 hours 50 minutes for females.

   Broken down by sex and age group, the time spent on Working for both sexes decreased by up to 20 minutes and more in the age group of 15 to 24 years old.

Time spent on Working by sex and age group (2006, 2011)-weekly average, working persons

[Domestic work]

   The time spent on Domestic work⁴⁾ was 2 hours 10 minutes. The difference between males and females was still considerable, as males spent only 42 minutes, compared to 3 hours 35 minutes for females.

   Broken down by sex and age group and compared to 2006, males spent more time on Domestic work in all age groups except 70 to 79 years old, while, females aged 15-54 years old spent less time on domestic work with the noted exception of females aged 20-24.

Time spent on domestic work by sex and age group (2006, 2011)--weekly average

   4) Housework, Caring or nursing, Child care and Shopping

[Social life]

   The time spent on "Social life" was 19 minutes. Males spent 18 minutes, and females 20 minutes.

   Looking at the transition by age group over the past 10 years, the time spent on "Social life" decreased generally in all age groups, especially pronounced was the drop in the age group of 20 to 24 years old.

Time spent on "Social life" by age group (2001, 2006, 2011)--weekly average

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