September 16, 2025

Faculty and students from our university participate in the project to visualize social issues using statistics: Report on the results of the project to utilize the national census

The final results of the "Census Utilization Project," in which faculty and students from our university participated, were reported at the "10th Research Conference of the Society for Basic Education Security," held at Otsuma Women's University on Friday, August 30th and Saturday, August 31st. Taking advantage of the introduction of the "elementary school graduation" option for the first time in the 2020 census, this project aimed to contribute to the creation of a social infrastructure by statistically analyzing the current situation and challenges faced by people across the country who have not completed compulsory education.

From our university, Professor Takehiro Usui of Faculty of Economics was in charge of the Kanto area, writing and supervising the report, and was also involved in the preparation of reports for Fukushima, Gunma, and Aichi prefectures. Professor Usui also presented his research results at an open study session, visualizing the trend of opening night junior high schools that are attracting attention nationwide based on data.

In addition, six Faculty of Economics students, Chie Kono, Yusho Kitamura, Mio Nakagawa, Rin Nakajima, Harumi Muro, and Mizuki Yamada, made full use of the knowledge of statistics and data science cultivated at Faculty of Economics over a period of about four months to create almost all the charts used in the reports of the 47 prefectures published in the "Basic Education Security Research Annex". We organized and analyzed the vast amount of data extracted from the 2020 census and promoted research for the establishment of night junior high schools nationwide.

The results of this research have been compiled in the second issue of the "Basic Education Security Research Special Edition" and published on a special website, "There are still not enough night schools - Those who have not completed compulsory education as seen in the 2020 National Census." Professor Usui said, "Using statistics and data science as clues, we have interpreted the national census, which is fundamental information for society, and visualized issues related to ensuring educational opportunities. Working with data is also working to engage with people's lives and voices. I hope that faculty and students will continue to work together, accumulate research, and cultivate a learning environment that is open to society."

Special website for the Society for Basic Education Security