The transition to first-time homeownership in Japan: Who owns homes?

This study examines how socioeconomic status, gender, and intergenerational relationships affect first-time homeownership in Japan. Social expenditure on housing has been extremely low in Japan, and family struggle without... [ view full abstract ]

This study examines how socioeconomic status, gender, and intergenerational relationships affect first-time homeownership in Japan. Social expenditure on housing has been extremely low in Japan, and family struggle without receiving enough suppor to own their home to attain social status for their children and retirement security for themselves. Cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory offers the key to understanding housing inequality and social stratification. This study uses data from the Japanese Life Course Panel Survey (JLPS). This study found the following: (1) marital status is significantly associated with homeownership among female respondents; (2) Among male and female respondents who have never been married, most of those who stay in “owned house” live with their parent (s); (3) Among married female respondents who stay in “owned house,” only less than 20% have housing equity either in their own name, jointly with their partner, or jointly with other family members. These results can be explained by the instability of employment among younger people; low-employment rate of women in Japan, which is called an “M-shaped curve”; wage gap between non-regular and regular employees; and the wage gap between males and females. Additionally, (4) the event history analysis reveals that number of years of education, household income, occupational status of husbands, employment status of wives, and other sociodemographic status affected the transition to first-time homeownership. This study provides evidence of housing inequality and social stratification in Japan.