Concerning the 1940 Census
Cabinet Bureau of Statistics
A CENSUS will be taken this year on October 1 (midnight September 30). The Ordinance Governing the Execution of the 1940 Census and other regulations relating thereto were promulgated on May 25 authorizing the taking of necessary steps, including the appointment of 220,000 census enumerators.
Primary Purpose
The census scheduled for October is a quinquennial enumeration following those of 1920, 1925, 1930 and 1935. It has special historical significance in that it will take place in the year marking the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire. Nor should the fact be overlooked that the census will be taken in wartime. The purpose of a census lies at all times in surveying simultaneously all basic matters concerning the national life, with a view to obtaining data for formulating national policies. In the forthcoming census, however, emphasis will be laid, in view of the current situation at home and abroad, on collecting data for completing and strengthening the national structure for total war. The scope and methods of investigation, accordingly, will differ from those of previous censuses.
Types of People to be Covered
Those to be covered by the census are as follows :
1. Japanese, natives of Japan's overseas territories, and foreigners living within Japanese territory at the time the census is taken ; 2. Men on active service (including cadets) and reservists summoned to the colours at the time the census is taken ; 3. Civilians on duty on board vessels belonging to the army or requisitioned by the army, or naval vessels (that is, warships and other auxiliary vessels, and vessels requisitioned by the navy) ; 4. Civilians as well as Shinto priests and other religious workers who are with the military and naval forces at the front outside Japanese territory.
The point to be particularly noted in the coming census is that men in the services and civilians attached to the fighting forces will be covered, wherever they may be at the time, by a method which will be explained later. This widening of the scope of the census will fill an important omission by covering those men at the front who, from the point of view of age and social status, form the backbone of the nation. These are the people who should be included in the 1940 census in view of its primary purpose.
Method of Census-taking
The method to be followed in the October census is that the head of each family will fill in the declaration form as prescribed. In other words, the head of each family is responsible for the report. And the family will be divided into two classes : the ordinary family and the quasi-family, the latter being a group of people living together, each member or sub-group having an independent family budget, such as those living in hotels, dormitories, hospitals, lodging houses and boarding houses. In a quasi-family the person in charge is responsible for the report. Those responsible for the report must fill in blanks accurately by 8 o'clock in the morning, as designated in the form distributed by the census enumerator, concerning conditions as of October 1, and present it to the enumerator when he comes to collect it.
Census enumerators will be appointed by the Cabinet, and a district to be covered within a city, town, or village will be placed in their charge. They will wear a badge showing their official status when distributing and gathering reports and when performing other duties connected with the census.
Filling in the Declaration Form
Particulars to be covered by this census are : (1) name ; (2) position in the family ; (3) sex ; (4) date of birth ; (5) matrimonial relation ; (6) industrial and occupational connection ; (7) designated technical ability ; (8) connection with military service ; (9) place of birth ; (10) permanent domicile ; and (11) race or nationality.
A few words of explanation may be relevant here. Item (6) relating to industrial and occupational connection is divided into two parts : (1) inquiry as to present industrial and occupational connection ; (2) as of July 1, 1927. This is to find out the trend of Japanese industry as a whole and that of the people in respect of occupations prior to the
China Affair and as of October, 1940. Under this item the name of the place of business or employment, kind of occupation, etc. is to be listed. The method of reporting the kind of occupation requires explanation. A table with the names of various occupations will be distributed to each family, with a number allotted to each occupation, so that the reporter must list the name of his occupation together with its corresponding number in the table. For example, a book-keeping clerk is (4), an agricultural technician (9), and a latheman (metal worker) (119). It is not easy to fit the almost numberless professions and occupations of all the people into just a little more than the 430 categories given on the table. However, in view of the importance of the coming census, it will be far from satisfactory simply to take statistics by using the old system which required each person to set down his occupation only ; hence this new system will be tried.
Such complicated methods as these are unavoidable when one of the major objectives of the census is to discover the occupational and industrial distribution of the people and how the industries are organized. In short, this year's census aims at finding out how and where our one hundred million compatriots are serving their country. This will also be invaluable material on which to base the various plans to strengthen the national structure for total war and as a means of gauging the strength of the nation. This item forms an essential part of the census together with Item (7) which specifies a designated technical ability. It consists of two parts : (1) designated occupation and (2) designated education. Designated occupations consist of 120 occupations deemed specially necessary under present circumstances and designated accordingly by the Prime Minister. Those who are at present engaged in one of these designated occupations must list their present occupation together with the corresponding numbers given in the table. The system is the same as that used in Item 6 relating to industry and occupation. In addition, the number of years they have followed the particular occupation must also be reported.
Those who are engaged in designated occupations at present but who were formerly not so engaged must report as shown in the declaration form. A person who formerly was engaged in more than one of the designated occupations must write down the one which he thinks most important, taking into consideration the number of years spent in that occupation, degree of skill, and his strong and weak points. In case both his present and former occupations come under the designated occupations, it will not be necessary to report his former employment, but only that of the present ; in this case the present occupation holds priority.
Designated education means graduation from or completion of technical or scientific schools or courses designated by the Prime Minister. There are three classes of designated education : secondary industrial and commercial schools, higher industrial and commercial schools, and universities. Those whose education comes under any of the foregoing must report the name of the school or course as prescribed.
"Those Related to Families"
What has been explained in the preceding pages concerns the home population only. In the case of those who are at the front, particulars to be reported differ slightly from the foregoing. In Paragraph 1, Article 2 of the Ordinance Governing the Execution of the Census of 1940, it is stated that :
The Census of 1940, which will be held at the time mentioned above (October 1), will cover those coming under one of the following categories :
1. Persons living within Japanese territory who are not on active service or who are not reservists called to the colours ; 2. Persons on active service and reservists called to the colours ; 3. Persons on board vessels belonging to the army or navy who are not on active service or who are not reservists called to colours. 4. Civilians attached to the fighting services, news reporters ; Shinto priests and other religious workers following the army and living outside Japanese territory at the designated time.
According to the provisions of the Ordinance, those coming under No. 1, that is, "Persons living within Japanese territory who are not on active service or who are not reservists called to the colours" consist of the people at large, and those coming under Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are men at the front, including civilians attached to military and naval forces who, according to the law and ordinance, are called "those related to families." These will be treated as persons related to their families as explained below and will be reported by the heads of those families as members belonging thereto :
1. The family with whom a man's wife is living at present, in case he is married ; 2. If not married, the family with whom his father is living, and in case his father is deceased, the family with whom his mother is living ; 3. The family with whom a child is living (the oldest child if
there are many children) in case his father, mother, or wife is deceased ; 4. The family of . . . . .(insert name). 5. The family of . . . . .(insert name).
The order is thus prescribed in detail ranging from the spouse, parents, children, grandparents, brothers and sisters to the person who delivered the summons to the colours and the head of the municipality or of the village where the domicile of the person concerned is located. It is provided in this connection that a common law wife shall also be considered as a spouse ; and that parents, children, brothers and sisters are limited to those registered in the same census register. The reason for widening the range and including the person who forwarded the summons to the colours and the head of the municipality or of the village is because some persons may have no relatives living with them. In most cases the family to which the person coming under one of these categories belongs is his own which he left behind ; however, other cases such as those mentioned in the foregoing must be provided for.
The enumeration of those related to families presents another complicated problem in the coming census. But, as already stated, it is one of its essential features as the census will be taken in wartime, and the fullest cooperation of those responsible for the filling in of the census paper is expected.
Cooperation of the Nation
Cooperation of the entire nation for successfully carrying out the census is by no means difficult, full understanding of its purpose and an honest, accurate report being all that is necessary. The use of individual reports for other than statistical purposes will be disallowed, and under no circumstances will the contents of the reports be made public. This is clearly set forth in the provisions of the Imperial Ordinance. Furthermore, if any person divulges to others facts he has become acquainted with through the performance of his duties in connection with the census, he will be severely punished.
As great care will be taken to respect and protect the interest of those making the census report, people need have not misgivings, and all are urged to cooperate by reporting accurately and clearly data which will prove to be invaluable in the framing of important national policies.