Japan · Focused exhibit
Follow household accounts, workplace records, and the objects people owned. Each offers a different view of ordinary life.
Drawings identify the subjects of records, not exact appliance models or reconstructed interiors. Open a value to inspect its full source card.
Household budgets
These are household averages, not a four-person median. The earliest observation covers cities only; later national coverage is a boundary in the series, not a change to be read as household prosperity.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 1955
¥29,169Workers' household monthly income, 1955 AJPY per month, nominal (workers' households, all cities)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1965
¥65,141Workers' household monthly income, 1965 AJPY per month, nominal (workers' households, national)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1975
¥236,152Workers' household monthly income, 1975 AJPY per month, nominal (workers' households, national)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1985
¥444,846 per monthWorkers' household monthly income, 1985 AJPY per month, nominal (actual monthly income, workers' households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1995
¥570,817 per monthWorkers' household monthly income, 1995 AJPY per month, nominal (actual monthly income, workers' households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2005
¥522,629 per monthWorkers' household monthly income, 2005 AJPY per month, nominal (actual monthly income, workers' households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2015
¥525,955 per monthWorkers' household monthly income, 2015 AJPY per month, nominal (actual monthly income, workers' households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗These expenditure records include all two-or-more-person households. They cannot be subtracted from the workers' household incomes above to infer what a family saved.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 1965
¥48,396All-household monthly consumption expenditure, 1965 AJPY per month, nominal (all two-or-more-person households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1985
¥273,114 per monthMonthly consumption expenditure, all households, 1985 AJPY per month, nominal (consumption expenditure, all two-or-more-person households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2005
¥300,903 per monthMonthly consumption expenditure, all households, 2005 AJPY per month, nominal (consumption expenditure, all two-or-more-person households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2015
¥288,326 per monthMonthly consumption expenditure, all households, 2015 AJPY per month, nominal (consumption expenditure, all two-or-more-person households)
Source population: Two-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Record in the decade archive ↗Earnings and working time
Establishment-based pay belongs beside the workplace records. It is not interchangeable with the income of a household, which may have several earners and other income sources.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 1955
¥18,300Average monthly wage, establishments with 30+ workers, 1955 AJPY per month, nominal (all industries, establishments with 30 or more regular workers)
Source population: Varies by table — see individual source registrations for each survey.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1965
¥39,400Average monthly wage, establishments with 30+ workers, 1965 AJPY per month, nominal (all industries, establishments with 30 or more regular workers)
Source population: Varies by table — see individual source registrations for each survey.
Record in the decade archive ↗The payroll survey covers establishments with thirty or more regular workers. Cash earnings are nominal; these cards alone do not show purchasing power or the income of a typical household.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) · source collection ↗Observed 1975
¥177,213Average monthly wage, establishments with 30+ workers, 1975 AJPY per month, nominal (all surveyed industries, establishments with 30 or more regular workers)
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1985
¥317,091 per monthAverage monthly cash earnings, all surveyed industries, 1985 AJPY per month, nominal (total cash earnings, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers)
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1995
¥408,864 per monthAverage monthly cash earnings, all surveyed industries, 1995 AJPY per month, nominal (total cash earnings, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers)
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2005
¥381,807 per monthAverage monthly cash earnings, all surveyed industries, 2005 AJPY per month, nominal (total cash earnings, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers)
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2015
¥361,684 per monthAverage monthly cash earnings, all surveyed industries, 2015 AJPY per month, nominal (total cash earnings, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers)
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Hours describe surveyed employees' paid work. Household work and people outside the survey are not included in this measure.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) · source collection ↗Observed 1975
172.0 hoursAverage monthly working hours, establishments with 30+ workers, 1975 Ahours per month, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30 or more regular workers
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1985
175.8 hoursAverage monthly working hours, 1985 Ahours per month, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1995
159.1 hoursAverage monthly working hours, 1995 Ahours per month, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2005
152.5 hoursAverage monthly working hours, 2005 Ahours per month, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2015
148.7 hoursAverage monthly working hours, 2015 Ahours per month, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers
Source population: Establishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Record in the decade archive ↗The home and its equipment
Dwelling averages describe housing, not the floor area available to a four-person median-income family.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 1988
89.29 m²Floor area per dwelling, 1988 Am² per dwelling (occupied dwellings, nationwide)
Source population: Dwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 1993
91.92 m²Floor area per dwelling, 1993 Am² per dwelling (occupied dwellings, nationwide)
Source population: Dwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2003
94.85 m²Floor area per dwelling, 2003 Am² per dwelling (occupied dwellings, nationwide)
Source population: Dwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2013
94.42 m²Floor area per dwelling, 2013 Am² per dwelling (occupied dwellings, nationwide)
Source population: Dwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Record in the decade archive ↗Colour television and flat-screen television are different categories. The dates on these cards are observation years; archive placement does not move an earlier survey into a later decade.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 2004
97.3%Households with a colour television, 2004 A% of two-or-more-person households
Source population: Two-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2009Filed in the 2010s archive
61.9%Households with a flat-screen television, 2009 A% of two-or-more-person households
Source population: Two-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Record in the decade archive ↗Ownership rates concern two-or-more-person households. They do not describe appliance models, condition, use, or time saved.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 2004
99.0%Households with a refrigerator, 2004 A% of two-or-more-person households
Source population: Two-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2004
99.2%Households with a washing machine, 2004 A% of two-or-more-person households
Source population: Two-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2009Filed in the 2010s archive
98.7%Households with a refrigerator, 2009 A% of two-or-more-person households
Source population: Two-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2009Filed in the 2010s archive
99.5%Households with a washing machine, 2009 A% of two-or-more-person households
Source population: Two-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Record in the decade archive ↗These household penetration measures come from the communications survey. A smartphone is a subset of mobile phones; do not add the categories or substitute this population for the durable-goods survey.
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · source collection ↗Observed 2014
94.6%Households with a mobile phone, end 2014 A% of households (Communications Usage Trend Survey)
Source population: Households and individuals in Japan (varies by chapter — household penetration vs individual users)
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2014
64.2%Households with a smartphone, end 2014 A% of households (Communications Usage Trend Survey)
Source population: Households and individuals in Japan (varies by chapter — household penetration vs individual users)
Record in the decade archive ↗Observed 2014
78.0%Households with a personal computer, end 2014 A% of households (Communications Usage Trend Survey)
Source population: Households and individuals in Japan (varies by chapter — household penetration vs individual users)
Record in the decade archive ↗Continue researching
Every authored observation and documented gap remains in its original decade folder. These folders are research holdings; the selected views above do not exhaust their records.