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 Purpose of JGSS Project
The JGSS (Japanese General Social Surveys) Project conducts repeated social surveys to comprehensively examine the attitudes and behavior of people in Japan and aims to promote a wide range of academic research by making its data available to researchers for secondary analysis. The surveys cover a broad range of topics, including employment and livelihood, household composition, leisure activities, health, crime victimization, political attitudes, family norms, and views on life and death. Since the project began, numerous datasets have been made publicly available and used in a wide range of research and educational settings.
The JGSS Research Project began in the autumn of 1998. Beginning in 1999, the Institute of Regional Studies at Osaka University of Commerce was designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a “Key Institution on the Frontiers of Academic Projects” for two successive five-year terms through FY2008. From June 2008 to March 2013, the project was selected for MEXT’s “Program for Promotion of Joint Research Centers in Humanities and Social Sciences,” renamed the “Program for Promotion of Unique Joint Research Centers” in April 2010. This led to the establishment of the JGSS Research Center as an independent center within Osaka University of Commerce. In October 2008, the Center was accredited by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a Joint Usage/Research Center. Its accreditation was renewed in April 2013, April 2019, and April 2025, and the current accreditation period runs through March 31, 2031. The project has collaborated with the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo since its establishment and maintained a formal cooperation agreement from December 2008 to March 2013.
From April 2016 to March 2019 and from April 2020 to March 2023, the project has been adopted by the MEXT as a "Program for Promotion of Unique Joint Research Centers: Promotion of Functional Enhancement (japanese)" In October 2018, JGSS Research Center was selected for the JSPS Program for Constructing Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Science and carried out the promotion of data sharing. As part of this program, the Center developed the JGSS Data Download System (JGSSDDS), which began general operation in May 2022, thereby accelerating the application and delivery process and promoting wider use of JGSS data.
Noriko Iwai (Professor of Osaka University of Commerce) serves as the Principal Investigator, and JGSS office is located at Osaka University of Commerce. Project members vary somewhat from year to year, but an abundance of researchers specializing in sociology, social psychology, economics, education, statistics, population studies, and other disciplines from public and private research agencies have participated.
The most significant characteristic of the project is the sharing of research resources through the continuous public release of survey data. The General Social Survey (GSS) in the United States is a well-known survey with this characteristic and served as a model for JGSS. Conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago since 1972, the GSS had completed 35 surveys by 2024, with the participation of more than 79,000 respondents in total. Its cumulative dataset contains more than 6,000 variables, and GSS data have been used in more than 37,000 publications. Similar surveys are conducted in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Taiwan, Korea, China, and other countries, with JGSS representing the Japanese version of the GSS.
By 2024, JGSS had conducted 21 nationwide surveys, with the cooperation of more than 53,000 respondents in total. The JGSS Cumulative Data 2000–2018 contains more than 2,500 variables, of which 921 were included at two or more time points and 117 were included at all 12 time points. JGSS datasets are deposited to data archives including SSJDA (Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo), ICPSR (University of Michigan), and GESIS (German Social Science Infrastructure Services). Total number of data usage through ICPSR and GESIS exceed 43,000, and that through SSJDA exceeds 42,000. The number of data users is increasing year by year, and data users are from various institutions inside (in Japanese) and outside Japan.
Results from research using public use micro data have been reported by the Japan Sociological Society, the Japanese Society of Social Psychology, the Japanese Association of Sociological Criminology, the Japan Society of Family Sociology, the Population Association of Japan, the American Sociological Association, the International Institute of Sociology, the International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, International Sociological Association, and other academic institutions. The JGSS is recognized as one of the most well-known social surveys in Japan. |
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Growth of the JGSS Project
Up to now the JGSS project has been evaluated highly, and was awarded the Statistical Activity Encouraging Award by the Japan Statistical Association. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology had determined the span of the project to be five years (from 1999 to 2003), but due to the project's great successes, it was continued in a second phase from 2004 to 2008. Since 2008, it has continued its activities as a MEXT-accredited Joint Usage/Research Center.
Research on Survey Methods
To examine issues concerning survey questions and methodology, the JGSS Project conducted two pilot surveys in 1999, at the outset of the project. Since then, it has repeatedly examined methodological issues through smaller-scale pretests. Information is also collected through nonresponse questionnaires on cases in which cooperation could not be obtained, and this information is used to improve cooperation and response rates in subsequent surveys. The project thus places considerable emphasis on the study of survey methodology.
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Call for Research/Analytical Issues
Since the 2005 survey, the JGSS project has called for survey questions from researchers and graduate students in and outside of Japan. In addition, it has been publicly calling for research issues (for participation in our survey from the design stage) and analytical issues (for participation in our survey from the analysis stage). The intention is to accept ideas from researchers (especially young ones) who have good ideas but had not previously been given an opportunity to participate in a nation-wide survey, and to enhance further the JGSS questionnaire through participation from these researchers.
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Paper Competition
Every year since 2003, the JGSS Project has invited academic papers using JGSS data and has recognized outstanding papers. The competition aims both to promote the use of publicly available data and to identify excellent research. By 2026, 34 papers had received awards.
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Encouraging Young Researchers
Since JGSS has conducted surveys repeatedly in a short period of time, it provides many opportunities for young researchers to experience actual nation-wide surveys. Therefore, the JGSS project strives to develop young researchers actively by calling for questions and papers etc. In 2005 this endeavor was institutionalized as the “JGSS Researcher Encouraging Program,” and has enhanced the development of young researchers. As of April 2026, 27 graduate students had completed the program. Also, post-doctoral fellows have been taken on since 2005, and have participated with associate investigators in the course of processes that include survey planning and designing, implementation, data analysis, and writing papers, thereby polishing the necessary skills and knowledge for conducting national and cross-national surveys. Currently, there are one research fellow and two post-doctoral fellows.
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Strengthening Protection of Personal Data
From the beginning of the JGSS Project, close attention has been paid to the protection of personal information. For example, when data are released, information on respondents’ places of residence is removed, the order of cases is randomized, and other measures are taken so that individuals or households cannot be identified. With the enactment of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information in April 2005, the Center further strengthened its attention to this issue. We continue to study sampling and recruitment methods that enable social surveys to be conducted while ensuring the protection of personal information.
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Creating a Cumulative Data Set
As JGSS is a repeated survey, its data can be used for analyses of changes in Japanese society over time. To facilitate such analyses, the Center has created the JGSS Cumulative Data 2000–2003, JGSS Cumulative Data 2000–2010, JGSS Cumulative Data 2000–2015, and JGSS Cumulative Data 2000–2018.
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Online Data Analysis on the Web
The JGSS Research Center has developed the JGSS Online Analysis Application, which allows users to analyze data downloaded from JGSSDDS through a web browser without specialized statistical software. The application supports basic tabulations, cross-tabulations, correlations, regression analysis, and various statistical tests, and is used for both research and education. Some JGSS datasets can also be analyzed using SSJDA Data Analysis, provided by the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo.
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Social Network Survey
In the survey conducted in 2003 (JGSS-2003), total sample were divided into two. Subjects in the first half of the sample were given questionnaires that had strong continuity and similarity with previous surveys, and the rest of the subjects were given social network questionnaires that made detailed questions into the degree and substance of subjects’ exchanges with other people. This social network survey is extremely valuable in its own right, and publishing the survey data has been very useful for many researchers.
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Encouraging International Use
JGSS data were initially available only in Japanese. To promote their international use, the data and survey documentation were subsequently translated into English, and Japanese and English versions are now released together. The data are made available through the JGSS Data Download System (JGSSDDS), as well as through ICPSR in the United States and GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in Germany. Some earlier datasets also remain available through the SSJ Data Archive at the Institute of Social Science, the University of Tokyo. As of March 2026, JGSS data had been downloaded approximately 43,000 times through ICPSR.
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Cross-National Survey in East Asia
Beginning with the 2006 survey, the JGSS Project has participated in the East Asian Social Survey (EASS), a cross-national survey conducted in several East Asian societies. EASS enables international comparison by incorporating common question modules into the continuing national surveys of each participating society.
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