Population Census

The purpose of this survey is to clarify the actual state of the population and households in Japan and to obtain basic information for various administrative policies. It is the most basic statistical survey of the country. Population statistics created by the census are one type of population statistics and are positioned as core statistics under the Statistics Act. It is conducted by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications every five years, and the survey conducted on October 1, 2020 (Reiwa 2) marks the 100th anniversary of its start. It is a complete survey of all people (including foreigners) and households who normally live in Japan, and surveys 15 items related to household members (such as "gender," "year and month of birth," "whether or not they have a spouse," "employment status," "place of work or school," etc.) and 4 items related to households ("number of household members," "type of household," "type of residence," and "construction method of the house").

Originally, the first census was conducted in 1920 (Taisho 9) based on the "Law Concerning Population Census" (Law No. 49 of 1892), and has been conducted every five years since then. After World War II, a special census was conducted in 1947 (Showa 22) as the sixth census (because 1945 was the end of the war and the census was stopped) based on the then "Statistics Law" (Law No. 18 of 1947, the predecessor of the current law). Since 1950, a large-scale census has been conducted every ten years, and a simplified census with some of the survey items omitted in the fifth year in between has been conducted, and the static state of Japan's population as of October 1 of the survey year has been grasped. The first to sixth censuses adopted the current location principle (a method of grasping the place where people are staying at the time of the survey) as the standard for grasping the population, but since the seventh census conducted in 1950, the criterion has been changed to the habitual residence (whether people have lived in the residence for more than three months). The survey results are published as a large statistical document titled "Population Census Report," divided into sections such as "National Edition," "Prefectural/City/Town/Village Edition," and "Industry Edition."

[Nobuo Iizuka September 17, 2020]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

国内の人口・世帯の実態を明らかにし、各種行政施策などの基礎資料を得ること目的とした調査。国のもっとも基本的な統計調査である。国勢調査により作成される国勢統計は人口統計の一つであり、統計法上の基幹統計に位置づけられている。総務省統計局が5年ごとに実施しており、2020年（令和2）10月1日実施の調査で開始から100年になる。日本国内に普段住んでいるすべての人（外国人を含む）および世帯を対象とする全数調査で、世帯員に関する15項目（「男女の別」「出生の年月」「配偶者の有無」「就業状態」「従業地又は通学地」など）、および世帯に関する4項目（「世帯員の数」「世帯の種類」「住居の種類」「住宅の建て方」）を調査している。

　もともとは「国勢調査ニ関スル法律」（明治35年法律第49号）に基づいて1920年（大正9）に第1回調査が行われ、その後5年ごとに実施されてきた。第二次世界大戦後は、当時の「統計法」（昭和22年法律第18号。現行法の前身）に基づき、第6回調査として1947年（昭和22）に臨時調査（1945年が終戦年次であり調査が中止されたことによる）が行われ、1950年以降は10年ごとに大規模調査、その中間の5年目に調査項目の一部を省略した簡易調査がそれぞれ行われ、調査年次の10月1日現在における日本人口の静態が把握されてきた。人口把握の基準としては、第1回から第6回までの調査では現在地主義（調査時点に滞在している場所を把握する方法）が採用されていたが、1950年に行われた第7回調査以降は常住地（当該住居に3か月以上住んでいるか）を基準として調査することに改められている。調査結果は、『国勢調査報告』として「全国編」「都道府県・市区町村編」「産業編」等に分けられて大部の統計資料として公表されている。

［飯塚信夫　2020年9月17日］

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