vitrine · JP · room 4 of 7
The 1980s room
The composite family. Each room is a statistical composite, assembled from separate distributions with separate sources. The family at the median income did not also have the median house, the median car, and the median diet. No single family described here ever existed; each fact tells you, in its provenance drawer, which real population it was measured from.
No curator's route yet
The room is open; the route is not written
This room's facts are sourced and complete. The editorial route through them has not been authored yet — the ledgers below are the exhibit.
era-graded wash · absent technology isn't drawn · every glyph opens its record
The complete room
All six ledgers, including the curator's route above and the records around it. Value, tier, measured population, and source on every line.
The home
4 exhibits61.3%A
Homeownership rate, 1988observed record
% of occupied dwellings owner-occupied
Population measuredDwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Housing and Land Survey (住宅・土地統計調査) — via Japan Statistical Yearbook
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From HLS 1988 via JSY 2016 Table 21-5 (jsy2016-y652105000.xls): 22,948 thousand owned houses ÷ 37,413 thousand occupied dwellings = 61.3% (homeownership ratio, dwellings-based). The 'owner household ratio' (households-based) was 61.1%. HLS surveyed October 1988; nationwide, sampled enumeration districts.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From HLS 1988 via JSY 2016 Table 21-5 (jsy2016-y652105000.xls): 22,948 thousand owned houses ÷ 37,413 thousand occupied dwellings = 61.3% (homeownership ratio, dwellings-based). The 'owner household ratio' (households-based) was 61.1%. HLS surveyed October 1988; nationwide, sampled enumeration districts.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
89.29 m²A
Floor area per dwelling, 1988observed record
m² per dwelling (occupied dwellings, nationwide)
Population measuredDwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Housing and Land Survey (住宅・土地統計調査) — via Japan Statistical Yearbook
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From HLS 1988 via JSY 2016 Table 21-1 (jsy2016-y652101000.xls): 89.29 m² floor space per dwelling (occupied dwellings). Tatami equivalent 30.61 units per dwelling, 9.55 tatami per person. Nationwide.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From HLS 1988 via JSY 2016 Table 21-1 (jsy2016-y652101000.xls): 89.29 m² floor space per dwelling (occupied dwellings). Tatami equivalent 30.61 units per dwelling, 9.55 tatami per person. Nationwide.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
4.86 roomsA
Rooms per dwelling, 1988observed record
rooms per dwelling (occupied dwellings, nationwide)
Population measuredDwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Housing and Land Survey (住宅・土地統計調査) — via Japan Statistical Yearbook
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From HLS 1988 via JSY 2016 Table 21-1 (jsy2016-y652101000.xls): 4.86 rooms per dwelling (occupied dwellings). Persons per room 0.66. Nationwide.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From HLS 1988 via JSY 2016 Table 21-1 (jsy2016-y652101000.xls): 4.86 rooms per dwelling (occupied dwellings). Persons per room 0.66. Nationwide.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
no reliable record accessible onlineD
Dwelling facilities (bath, flush toilet, kitchen)documented gap
n/a
Population measuredDwellings and households in sampled enumeration districts nationwide. Excludes diplomatic facilities, Imperial property, jails, SDF/US military bases.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier D
Full record
Housing and Land Survey (住宅・土地統計調査) — via Japan Statistical Yearbook
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: The HLS questionnaire includes 'Situation of facilities' (bath, toilet, kitchen), but this data is not published in the English Japan Statistical Yearbook tables — only aged-person and energy-saving facility tables appear. The HLS e-Stat statistical tables (Japanese interface) or printed reports would be needed. Basic bath/toilet facility prevalence is not transcribed.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: The HLS questionnaire includes 'Situation of facilities' (bath, toilet, kitchen), but this data is not published in the English Japan Statistical Yearbook tables — only aged-person and energy-saving facility tables appear. The HLS e-Stat statistical tables (Japanese interface) or printed reports would be needed. Basic bath/toilet facility prevalence is not transcribed.
Source note: Quinquennial since 1948 (first survey was a census). Renamed from 'Housing Survey' to 'Housing and Land Survey' in 1998. English stat.go.jp pages provide only survey outlines; summary results extracted from Japan Statistical Yearbook (JSY) Excel tables: JSY 2016 (65nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-8 covering 1988–2013, JSY 2026 (75nenkan) tables 21-1/21-5/21-6 covering 2013–2023. Homeownership rate, floor area, rooms per dwelling available. Basic bath/toilet facility data NOT in English JSY tables — needs e-Stat.
The budget
2 exhibits¥444,846 per monthA
Workers' household monthly income, 1985observed record
JPY per month, nominal (actual monthly income, workers' households)
Population measuredTwo-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Family Income and Expenditure Survey (家計調査) — long-run time-series tables
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Basis: Monthly figure
Curator note: From FIES long-run time-series (fies-a18-2.xls), 1985, column 実収入 (actual monthly income), workers' households. Annual average of monthly figures, current yen. This is the workers'-household income series; a long-run all-household income series was not located in the downloaded FIES tables. Two-or-more-person workers' households, Japan (national from 1963).
Source note: Monthly survey of household income and expenditure, continuous from 1946. Three universes: workers' households, all two-or-more-person households, one-person households. Expenditure classification revised in 1981 (methodology seam). Long-run Excel tables downloaded: fies-18-02-a.xls (workers' households, all cities, 1948–1962), fies-a18-2.xls (workers' households, 1963–2017), fies-a18-1.xls (all two-or-more-person households, 1963–2017). Before 1962 the survey covered cities only — pre-1962 facts carry the urban-rural-split caveat. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the Statistics Bureau reorganized the English site and the old /data/kakei/tsuki/ deep link 404s; repointed at the FIES English landing page, which links the outline, results, and Q&A pages (1560–1563). The long-run Excel tables cited above remain in samples/.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Basis: Monthly figure
Curator note: From FIES long-run time-series (fies-a18-2.xls), 1985, column 実収入 (actual monthly income), workers' households. Annual average of monthly figures, current yen. This is the workers'-household income series; a long-run all-household income series was not located in the downloaded FIES tables. Two-or-more-person workers' households, Japan (national from 1963).
Source note: Monthly survey of household income and expenditure, continuous from 1946. Three universes: workers' households, all two-or-more-person households, one-person households. Expenditure classification revised in 1981 (methodology seam). Long-run Excel tables downloaded: fies-18-02-a.xls (workers' households, all cities, 1948–1962), fies-a18-2.xls (workers' households, 1963–2017), fies-a18-1.xls (all two-or-more-person households, 1963–2017). Before 1962 the survey covered cities only — pre-1962 facts carry the urban-rural-split caveat. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the Statistics Bureau reorganized the English site and the old /data/kakei/tsuki/ deep link 404s; repointed at the FIES English landing page, which links the outline, results, and Q&A pages (1560–1563). The long-run Excel tables cited above remain in samples/.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
¥317,091 per monthA
Average monthly cash earnings, all surveyed industries, 1985observed record
JPY per month, nominal (total cash earnings, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers)
Population measuredEstablishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Source recordMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Monthly Labour Survey (毎月勤労統計調査) — long-term actual data
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Basis: Monthly figure
Curator note: From MLS long-term actual data (mls-long-term-actual.csv), year=1985, month=CY, industry=TL (all surveyed industries), size=0 (30+ regular workers), emp_type=0. Calendar-year average of monthly total cash earnings (regular + special pay). This is an establishment/payroll survey of workers, not a household-income figure.
Source note: Monthly payroll survey of employment, wages (total cash earnings), and working hours. Long-term actual CSV (mls-long-term-actual.csv) covers 1960–2026 at industry level; all-industry (TL) total available from 1970. Data for 1955/1965 taken from scanned Japan Statistical Yearbook pages. 'Total cash earnings' includes regular pay (所定内給与) and special pay (特別に支給された給与).
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Basis: Monthly figure
Curator note: From MLS long-term actual data (mls-long-term-actual.csv), year=1985, month=CY, industry=TL (all surveyed industries), size=0 (30+ regular workers), emp_type=0. Calendar-year average of monthly total cash earnings (regular + special pay). This is an establishment/payroll survey of workers, not a household-income figure.
Source note: Monthly payroll survey of employment, wages (total cash earnings), and working hours. Long-term actual CSV (mls-long-term-actual.csv) covers 1960–2026 at industry level; all-industry (TL) total available from 1970. Data for 1955/1965 taken from scanned Japan Statistical Yearbook pages. 'Total cash earnings' includes regular pay (所定内給与) and special pay (特別に支給された給与).
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
The table
2 exhibits¥273,114 per monthA
Monthly consumption expenditure, all households, 1985observed record
JPY per month, nominal (consumption expenditure, all two-or-more-person households)
Population measuredTwo-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Family Income and Expenditure Survey (家計調査) — long-run time-series tables
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Basis: Monthly figure
Curator note: From FIES long-run time-series (fies-a18-1.xls), 1985, all two-or-more-person households. Annual average of monthly consumption expenditure. Note the population differs from the income fact above (workers' households vs all two-or-more-person households).
Source note: Monthly survey of household income and expenditure, continuous from 1946. Three universes: workers' households, all two-or-more-person households, one-person households. Expenditure classification revised in 1981 (methodology seam). Long-run Excel tables downloaded: fies-18-02-a.xls (workers' households, all cities, 1948–1962), fies-a18-2.xls (workers' households, 1963–2017), fies-a18-1.xls (all two-or-more-person households, 1963–2017). Before 1962 the survey covered cities only — pre-1962 facts carry the urban-rural-split caveat. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the Statistics Bureau reorganized the English site and the old /data/kakei/tsuki/ deep link 404s; repointed at the FIES English landing page, which links the outline, results, and Q&A pages (1560–1563). The long-run Excel tables cited above remain in samples/.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Basis: Monthly figure
Curator note: From FIES long-run time-series (fies-a18-1.xls), 1985, all two-or-more-person households. Annual average of monthly consumption expenditure. Note the population differs from the income fact above (workers' households vs all two-or-more-person households).
Source note: Monthly survey of household income and expenditure, continuous from 1946. Three universes: workers' households, all two-or-more-person households, one-person households. Expenditure classification revised in 1981 (methodology seam). Long-run Excel tables downloaded: fies-18-02-a.xls (workers' households, all cities, 1948–1962), fies-a18-2.xls (workers' households, 1963–2017), fies-a18-1.xls (all two-or-more-person households, 1963–2017). Before 1962 the survey covered cities only — pre-1962 facts carry the urban-rural-split caveat. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the Statistics Bureau reorganized the English site and the old /data/kakei/tsuki/ deep link 404s; repointed at the FIES English landing page, which links the outline, results, and Q&A pages (1560–1563). The long-run Excel tables cited above remain in samples/.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Values are shown in period money
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
27.0%A
Food share of consumption expenditure, 1985observed record
% of consumption expenditure spent on food
Population measuredTwo-or-more-person households (workers' households and all households), Japan. Urban-only before 1962; national from 1963.
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Family Income and Expenditure Survey (家計調査) — long-run time-series tables
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From FIES (fies-a18-1.xls), 1985: food expenditure ¥73,735 ÷ consumption ¥273,114 = 27.0%. All two-or-more-person households. The Engel ratio had fallen from 38.1% (1965) and 32.0% (1975) as incomes rose.
Source note: Monthly survey of household income and expenditure, continuous from 1946. Three universes: workers' households, all two-or-more-person households, one-person households. Expenditure classification revised in 1981 (methodology seam). Long-run Excel tables downloaded: fies-18-02-a.xls (workers' households, all cities, 1948–1962), fies-a18-2.xls (workers' households, 1963–2017), fies-a18-1.xls (all two-or-more-person households, 1963–2017). Before 1962 the survey covered cities only — pre-1962 facts carry the urban-rural-split caveat. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the Statistics Bureau reorganized the English site and the old /data/kakei/tsuki/ deep link 404s; repointed at the FIES English landing page, which links the outline, results, and Q&A pages (1560–1563). The long-run Excel tables cited above remain in samples/.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From FIES (fies-a18-1.xls), 1985: food expenditure ¥73,735 ÷ consumption ¥273,114 = 27.0%. All two-or-more-person households. The Engel ratio had fallen from 38.1% (1965) and 32.0% (1975) as incomes rose.
Source note: Monthly survey of household income and expenditure, continuous from 1946. Three universes: workers' households, all two-or-more-person households, one-person households. Expenditure classification revised in 1981 (methodology seam). Long-run Excel tables downloaded: fies-18-02-a.xls (workers' households, all cities, 1948–1962), fies-a18-2.xls (workers' households, 1963–2017), fies-a18-1.xls (all two-or-more-person households, 1963–2017). Before 1962 the survey covered cities only — pre-1962 facts carry the urban-rural-split caveat. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the Statistics Bureau reorganized the English site and the old /data/kakei/tsuki/ deep link 404s; repointed at the FIES English landing page, which links the outline, results, and Q&A pages (1560–1563). The long-run Excel tables cited above remain in samples/.
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
The day
1 exhibit175.8 hoursA
Average monthly working hours, 1985observed record
hours per month, all surveyed industries, establishments with 30+ regular workers
Population measuredEstablishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Source recordMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) · 2025 · Tier A
Full record
Monthly Labour Survey (毎月勤労統計調査) — long-term actual data
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From MLS long-term actual data (mls-long-term-actual.csv), year=1985, month=CY, industry=TL, size=0, emp_type=0. Calendar-year average of monthly working hours. Includes scheduled and non-scheduled (overtime) hours. Establishments with 30+ regular workers, all surveyed industries.
Source note: Monthly payroll survey of employment, wages (total cash earnings), and working hours. Long-term actual CSV (mls-long-term-actual.csv) covers 1960–2026 at industry level; all-industry (TL) total available from 1970. Data for 1955/1965 taken from scanned Japan Statistical Yearbook pages. 'Total cash earnings' includes regular pay (所定内給与) and special pay (特別に支給された給与).
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), 2025 · source
Confidence: A — Official series
Curator note: From MLS long-term actual data (mls-long-term-actual.csv), year=1985, month=CY, industry=TL, size=0, emp_type=0. Calendar-year average of monthly working hours. Includes scheduled and non-scheduled (overtime) hours. Establishments with 30+ regular workers, all surveyed industries.
Source note: Monthly payroll survey of employment, wages (total cash earnings), and working hours. Long-term actual CSV (mls-long-term-actual.csv) covers 1960–2026 at industry level; all-industry (TL) total available from 1970. Data for 1955/1965 taken from scanned Japan Statistical Yearbook pages. 'Total cash earnings' includes regular pay (所定内給与) and special pay (特別に支給された給与).
Assumption: The composite family
Assumption: Japanese surveys measure households, not four-person families
What had arrived
1 exhibitno reliable record accessible onlineD
Durable-goods diffusion, 1980sdocumented gap
n/a
Population measuredTwo-or-more-person households nationwide (separate data for one-person households). Excludes restaurants/boarding houses, foreign households (pre-2019).
Source recordStatistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) · 2009 · Tier D
Full record
National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure (全国消費実態調査) — durable goods summaries
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2009 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: The NSFIIE is quinquennial (survey years 1978, 1983, 1988, 1989). The 1984 and 1989 NSFIIE English durable-goods summaries are not in the archive — English HTML summaries are available only from 1999 onward. The ICWP English summaries begin in 2001 (data ~1999–2000). No 1980s household durable-goods diffusion data is transcribed.
Source note: Quinquennial deep-dive survey since 1959. Publishes 'Summary of Results Concerning Major Durable Goods' with possession rates (% of households) and ownership quantities (per 1,000 households) for ~40 categories. English HTML summaries available for 1999, 2004, 2009. The 2014 and 2019 (renamed) surveys do not publish English durable-goods summaries — data only via e-Stat (Japanese). Main data tables are image-based (GIF) on HTML pages; numbers transcribed from narrative text.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), 2009 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: The NSFIIE is quinquennial (survey years 1978, 1983, 1988, 1989). The 1984 and 1989 NSFIIE English durable-goods summaries are not in the archive — English HTML summaries are available only from 1999 onward. The ICWP English summaries begin in 2001 (data ~1999–2000). No 1980s household durable-goods diffusion data is transcribed.
Source note: Quinquennial deep-dive survey since 1959. Publishes 'Summary of Results Concerning Major Durable Goods' with possession rates (% of households) and ownership quantities (per 1,000 households) for ~40 categories. English HTML summaries available for 1999, 2004, 2009. The 2014 and 2019 (renamed) surveys do not publish English durable-goods summaries — data only via e-Stat (Japanese). Main data tables are image-based (GIF) on HTML pages; numbers transcribed from narrative text.
A day's work buys
1 exhibitno reliable record accessible onlineD
Affordability comparisons, 1980sdocumented gap
n/a
Population measuredEstablishments with 30 or more regular workers, all surveyed industries (total), Japan. Calendar year averages.
Source recordMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) · 2025 · Tier D
Full record
Monthly Labour Survey (毎月勤労統計調査) — long-term actual data
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), 2025 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: No item prices are in the archive for the 1980s, so hours-of-work-to-afford comparisons cannot be computed. The MLS wage (¥317,091/month, 1985) is the available wage reference.
Source note: Monthly payroll survey of employment, wages (total cash earnings), and working hours. Long-term actual CSV (mls-long-term-actual.csv) covers 1960–2026 at industry level; all-industry (TL) total available from 1970. Data for 1955/1965 taken from scanned Japan Statistical Yearbook pages. 'Total cash earnings' includes regular pay (所定内給与) and special pay (特別に支給された給与).
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), 2025 · source
Confidence: D — Scholarly estimate
Curator note: No item prices are in the archive for the 1980s, so hours-of-work-to-afford comparisons cannot be computed. The MLS wage (¥317,091/month, 1985) is the available wage reference.
Source note: Monthly payroll survey of employment, wages (total cash earnings), and working hours. Long-term actual CSV (mls-long-term-actual.csv) covers 1960–2026 at industry level; all-industry (TL) total available from 1970. Data for 1955/1965 taken from scanned Japan Statistical Yearbook pages. 'Total cash earnings' includes regular pay (所定内給与) and special pay (特別に支給された給与).
Confidence & flags
A — official statistical series
B — official microdata, computed by this project
C — reconstructed from period surveys
D — scholarly estimate
Gap — no reliable record; shown as the gap it is
Reading the atlas
Provenance is in the scan-line: every exhibit's row names its value, confidence tier, the population actually measured, and the source record. Chart points and stage glyphs open the same record.
Rising series draw in petrol, falling in ember. Absent technology isn't drawn — a bare house says more than ghosts.