This paper investigates the patterns and trends of educational assortative marriage in Japan. Using data from the Employment Status Survey and the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions of the People on Health and Welfare, we investigated the trends of association between husbands’ and wives’ educational attainment (481,144 couples) by applying log-linear, log-multiplicative layer effects, and regression-type models. The analysis revealed that, in general, educational assortative marriage has decreased continuously. In terms of the log-odds ratios, the association of educational attainment between spouses for women born between 1975 and 1979 decreased by about 25%, in comparison with that of women born between 1950 and 1954. The regressiontype models showed that the pattern of association was asymmetric while patterns of change were symmetric with respect to sex. We discuss what caused the decline in educational assortative marriage with a persistent gender asymmetric structure.

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BackgroundOur objective in this study was to find determinants of high-school dropout in a deprived area of Japan using longitudinal data, including socio-demographic and junior high school-period information.MethodsWe followed 695 students who graduated the junior high school located in a deprived area of Japan between 2002 and 2010 for 3 years after graduation (614 students: follow-up rate, 88.3%). Multivariable log-binomial regression models were used to calculate the prevalence ratios (PRs) for high-school dropout, using multiple imputation (MI) to account for non-response at follow-up.ResultsThe MI model estimated that 18.7% of students dropped out of high school in approximately 3 years. In the covariates-adjusted model, three factors were significantly associated with high-school dropout: ≥10 days of tardy arrival in junior high school (PR 6.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.69–24.6 for “10–29 days of tardy arrival” and PR 8.01; 95% CI, 2.05–31.3 for “≥30 days of tardy arrival” compared with “0 day of tardy arrival”), daily smoking (PR 2.01; 95% CI, 1.41–2.86) and severe problems, such as abuse and neglect (PR 1.66; 95% CI, 1.16–2.39). Among students with ≥30 days of tardy arrival in addition to daily smoking or experience of severe problems, ≥50% high-school dropout rates were observed.ConclusionsThree determinants of high-school dropout were found: smoking, tardy arrival, and experience of severe problems. These factors were correlated and should be treated as warning signs of complex behavioral and academic problems. Parents, educators, and policy makers should work together to implement effective strategies to prevent school dropout.

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Current debates on the conceptualization and measurement of social stratification are finding increasing value in Weber’s distinction between class and status for empirical analysis. However, aspects of Weber’s theory have yet to be sufficiently investigated. Indeed, it remains unclear whether Weber’s theory can be applied to temporally and culturally different circumstances, or whether social status is preferred to other occupational scales such as prestige or socio-economic standing. To address this gap, this study constructed a Japanese Socio-Economic Index (JSEI) and a Japanese Social Status Index (JSSI), using data from the Employment Status Survey conducted in 2007 and 2012. We applied these two indexes to analyses of social stratification in Japan, finding that the JSEI and JSSI worked better in the intergenerational inheritance of occupational status than the Japanese occupational prestige scale. We also found that the JSSI was useful for predicting the cultural activities of individuals—as Weber predicted. The JSEI and JSSI showed results similar to those found in European societies and so demonstrated their validity and usefulness for investigating social stratification in Japan, thereby extending European findings on social stratification into an Asian society.

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