Development of discussions on national housing statistics surveys in Japan

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, the survey conducted by the government aimed at collecting fundamental statistics on housing is referred to as the “national housing statistics survey.” The purpose of this study is to clarify the background of the discussions on the national housing statistics survey in Japan and how these discussions were linked to the actual survey. Previous studies have recognized two surveys in 1941, the “Housing Survey of Industrial Cities” and the “Housing Survey of Larger Cities” as the first national housing statistical surveys in Japan, and revealed the background to how both surveys were conducted. In contrast, this paper also focused on the discussions that ensued between the 1920s and 1930s, and discovered that discussions on obtaining national housing statistics began in 1923, and Japanese researchers intended to include housing‐related items in the 1930 National Census. However, its implementation was incomplete owing to a lack of funds, and only the number of rooms was investigated. The results of the discussions up to 1930 were reflected in the discussions around 1940, and two surveys with many items were conducted to understand the actual detailed conditions of the houses existing in the “industrial cities” and “larger cities” where munitions industries were concentrated.

Keywords

• housing act
• housing survey of industrial cities
• housing survey of larger cities
• national census
• Ryūichirō Nagaoka
• Yutaka (Hiroshi Kan) Nakamura