Changes in the Determinants of Class Identification in Japan

Along with the high growth of the Japanese economy, there was a gradual shift in class identification from "the lower (class)" to "the middle (class)." About 75 percent of Japanese people identified themselves as middle class in 1975. However, because the distribution of identifi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of sociology 2000-07, Vol.30 (2), p.34-51
Main Author: Kikkawa, Toru
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Changes
Class Identity
Determinants
Economic Development
Economic growth
Economic trends
Economic value
Educational attainment
Identification
Japan
Lower Class
Middle Class
Modeling
Psychology
Regression analysis
Social class
Social classes
Social Mobility
Social Stratification
Standard of living
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Summary:Along with the high growth of the Japanese economy, there was a gradual shift in class identification from "the lower (class)" to "the middle (class)." About 75 percent of Japanese people identified themselves as middle class in 1975. However, because the distribution of identification has not changed dramatically since 1975, it should be reexamined. In this article, the same linear causal model is applied to the male samples of the Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) surveys of 1975, 1985, 1995 in order to examine the latent changes of the determinants of class identification in the course of these twenty years. The same model is used to analyze the female samples of the SSM surveys of 1985 and 1995. The results of the analysis confirm the appearance of tendencies similar to those in the male samples. All of these results suggest the following conclusions: (1) As M. Naoi (1979) and others have insisted, socioeconomic status had little effect on class identification in the 1970s; (2) In the 1980s, income and life satisJaction were the most significant determinants of class identification, whereas occupation and education did not have significant effects. This can be called the period of economic aspect and subjective evaluation; (3) In the 1990s, education, occupation, income, and life satisfaction have had significant effects on class identification. Consequently, R2, which was only 9.3 percent in 1975, rose to 18.4 percent in 1995. This marks the advent of the period of multiple determinants of class identification.
ISSN:0020-7659
1557-9336
DOI:10.1080/15579336.2000.11770214