In 1996, the ISS established a new subsidiary center, the Information Center for Social Science Research on Japan (ICSSRJ). ICSSRJ has two research divisions, “Network Organizations” and “Research and Information Analysis,” as well as a visiting foreign scholars division. It will operate for 10 years.

SSJ Data Archive

The SSJ Data Archive is a comprehensive online archive of social science data concerning Japan. It includes both data sets collected by the ISS and those deposited by other institutions.

Japanese General Social Survey

The General Social Survey of Japan is a general survey to comprehend the values, consciousness, and behavior of Japanese people. It will allow researchers to undertake comparative studies based on individual level data sets. The first JGSS was undertaken with Osaka University of Commerce in the fall of 2000 and further surveys have been conducted annually until 2003, and 2005. Data are provided in the SSJ Data Archive. The JGSS has participated in the EASS project.

Panel Survey

With the exception of a few cases, Japan has lagged behind the world in terms of conducting a panel surveys. Therefore, we started conducting a panel survey targeting the Japanese people in the age group from 20 to 40 in order to obtain a sense of the changes in working conditions or lifestyles. The first wave survey was conducted in early 2007, and will be conducted annually till 2011 for the present. Sample size is about 4800. The data will be available in the SSJ Data Archive.

SSJ Data Archive Research Paper Series

he ICSSRJ publishes the proceedings of seminars, the detailed descriptions of its administrative works, and reports on data usage in the SSJ Data Archive Research Paper Series. Thirty-seven papers in this series have been published as of 2007. Click here for a list of papers (in Japanese).

Building a Worldwide Network of Academic Research on Japan

The ICSSRJ publishes an English-language newsletter, Social Science Japan, which is available online at http://newslet.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/. The center also supports English publications such as the Social Science Japan Journal and The Political Economy of Japanese Society. Furthermore, it organizes an e-mail discussion group, the SSJ Forum, which provides an electronic discussion space for social scientists interested in contemporary Japan. The forum has about 700 members. Past posts are stored in SSJ Forum Archive and available at http://forum.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/.

Technical Support System

The System Administration Office of the ICSSRJ provides technical support for the smooth operation of the ISS network system and the maintenance of the ISS web pages.