Average Commuting Time by Gender and Age in Japan（1）－Characteristics of the Distribution

1――Introduction

Commuting time is known to vary by gender and age group. Various studies have reported that women generally have shorter commuting times than men, a pattern observed not only in Japan but also in other countries (Aritome and Ogata, 1997; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2022; Giménez-Nadal et al., 2022; Casado-Díaz et al., 2023; Lång and Börjesson, 2025). Regarding the relationship between age and commuting time, studies across countries have reported both positive and negative correlations, and no consistent international pattern has emerged (Zhang et al., 2023; Giménez-Nadal et al., 2022). At the same time, studies from different countries indicate that women tend to shorten their commuting distance and time during child-rearing years (Bütikofer et al., 2025; Iwasaki, 2020).

In recent years, the social environment affecting commuting behavior has undergone major changes, including the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent return to office work, the introduction and scaling back of telework, and rising housing costs in urban areas. Amid these changes, trends in commuting time by gender and age group have not yet been sufficiently clarified. Therefore, in this four-part research letter series, we present differences and trends in average one-way commuting time by gender, age group, and region, based on original data from annual online surveys conducted by the NLI Research Institute from 2019 to 2025 among employees residing in Japan (civil servants or individuals employed by companies).

2――Structure of the Series

In the present article as the first installment of this series, we provide general information on the NLI Research Institute’s original survey used for the analysis and examine the basic structure of commuting time by gender and age group. Specifically, rather than focusing on changes from 2019 to 2025, we first examine the distribution of commuting time by gender and age group at two points in time—2019 and 2025—for Japan as a whole, the Tokyo metropolitan area, and regions outside the Tokyo metropolitan area.

In the second installment, we analyze the nationwide characteristics of changes in the distribution of commuting time by gender and age group between 2019 and 2025. The third installment then examines these changes by distinguishing between the Tokyo metropolitan area and regions outside it. Finally, the fourth installment assesses the robustness of the findings derived from this series and provides an overall summary of the results.

3――Survey Overview

The analysis in this series is based on data from the NLI Research Institute’s original web-based survey, Survey on Work Styles and Health among Employees. This survey has been conducted annually between February and March from 2019 to 2025, targeting employees aged 18 to 64 nationwide in Japan (civil servants or individuals employed by companies).¹ The number of respondents in each wave ranges from approximately 5,500 to 6,500. Responses are collected to ensure that the gender- and age-distribution across 11 regions nationwide closely matches that of the Population Census.²

Questions regarding one-way commuting time were asked in a multiple-choice format, with the following categories: within 10 minutes, 11 to less than 30 minutes, 30 to less than 60 minutes, 60 to less than 90 minutes, and 90 minutes or more. To calculate average commuting time, the midpoint of each time interval was used as the representative value for each category.³ In addition, the results of the 2020 survey were confirmed to exhibit broadly similar patterns in the distribution of average commuting time by prefecture when compared with other large-scale surveys.^4, ⁵

¹ Monitor panel members of Cross Marketing Inc.
² From the second wave (2020) onward, respondents from previous years were given priority in sampling, resulting in the data being partially panel data.
³ Specifically, commuting time was calculated as 5 minutes for “within 10 minutes,” 20.5 minutes for “11 to less than 30 minutes,” 45 minutes for “30 to less than 60 minutes,” 75 minutes for “60 to less than 90 minutes,” and 90 minutes for “90 minutes or more.”
⁴ Iwasaki, K. (2020). Average Commuting Time by Prefecture. [in Japanese] NLI Research Institute Report. (https://www.nli-research.co.jp/report/detail/id=65487?site=nli)
⁵ This survey was conducted as a voluntary online survey, and therefore the characteristics of the survey sample may involve a certain degree of bias. Accordingly, the results presented in this series, including this article, do not directly represent the situation of Japan as a whole. Rather, they are intended to provide insights into the characteristics of the relationship between commuting time and various attributes, as well as trends in how these relationships have changed over time.

4――Distribution by Gender and Age Group

We now examine the distribution of average commuting time by gender and age group. First, in 2019, the average one-way commuting time was 39 minutes for men and 34 minutes for women. Figure 1 presents estimated one-way commuting time in 2019 by gender and age group.^6, ⁷ Among men, commuting time clearly tends to increase with age. In contrast, among women, commuting time decreases with age from the 40s onward, and this decrease becomes more pronounced with age.

Figure 1. Estimated one-way commuting time by gender and age in 2019

Next, in 2025, the average one-way commuting time was 39 minutes for men and 36 minutes for women. Figure 2 presents estimated one-way commuting time in 2025 by age group and gender.⁸ Among men, commuting time increases with age, whereas among women, particularly from the 40s onward, the decline in commuting time becomes larger as age increases. This gender-specific relationship between age and commuting time is observed consistently in both 2019 and 2025.

Figure 2. Estimated one-way commuting time by gender and age in 2025

⁶ Figures 1 and 2 present estimated results based on a regression model in which one-way commuting time is the dependent variable, using all responses from 2019 to 2025. The model includes prefecture fixed effects and year fixed effects, as well as prefecture–year interaction terms. In addition, it incorporates gender, age (including a squared age term), and all interaction terms among gender, age (including the squared age term), and year. Standard errors are clustered at the individual level.
⁷ For details of the regression model used for the estimation, see Footnote 6. Figure 1 shows estimated one-way commuting time in 2019 by age group and gender based on this model.
⁸ For details of the regression model used for the estimation, see Footnote 6. Figure 2 shows estimated one-way commuting time in 2025 by gender and age group based on this model.

5――Regional Comparison

Next, we examine one-way commuting time by dividing the sample into the Tokyo metropolitan area (Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, and Kanagawa prefectures) and other regions. In 2019, the average one-way commuting time in the Tokyo metropolitan area was 50 minutes for men and 45 minutes for women. In contrast, in other regions, the respective averages in 2019 were 34 minutes for men and 30 minutes for women. Figure 3 presents average one-way commuting time by gender and age group, shown separately for the Tokyo metropolitan area and other regions.^9, ¹⁰

For both men and women, commuting time is longer in the Tokyo metropolitan area than in other regions. Among men, commuting time tends to increase with age, while among women, particularly from the 40s onward, commuting time decreases as age increases, with the magnitude of this decrease becoming larger at older ages. These patterns are especially pronounced in the Tokyo metropolitan area. In regions outside the Tokyo metropolitan area, men show little change in commuting time as age increases. Among women, a pattern similar to that observed in the Tokyo metropolitan area—shorter commuting times at older ages from the 40s onward—is also evident; however, the magnitude of the decrease is smaller compared with women in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Figure 3. Estimated one-way commuting time by gender, age, and region in 2019

Similarly, in 2025, the average one-way commuting time was 50 minutes for men and 48 minutes for women in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and 34 minutes for men and 32 minutes for women in other regions. Figure 4 presents estimated one-way commuting time in 2025 by gender and age group, shown separately for the Tokyo metropolitan area and other regions.¹¹ As in 2019, a pronounced tendency is observed among men in the Tokyo metropolitan area for commuting time to increase with age. In contrast, among women, the estimated age profiles for the Tokyo metropolitan area and other regions are nearly parallel, and the pattern observed in 2019—whereby the magnitude of the decline in commuting time increased with age in the Tokyo metropolitan area—appears to have weakened by 2025.

Figure 4. Estimated one-way commuting time by gender, age, and region in 2025

⁹ Figures 3 and 4 present estimated results based on a regression model in which one-way commuting time is the dependent variable, using all responses from 2019 to 2025. The model includes a Tokyo metropolitan area dummy variable, gender, age (including a squared age term), year, and all interaction terms among these variables as explanatory variables. Standard errors are clustered at the individual level.
¹⁰ For details of the regression model used for the estimation, see Footnote 9. Figure 3 shows estimated one-way commuting time in 2019 by gender, age group, and region based on this model.
¹¹ For details of the regression model used for the estimation, see Footnote 9. Figure 4 shows estimated one-way commuting time in 2025 by gender, age group, and region based on this model.

6――Conclusion

In this article, using original survey data from the NLI Research Institute, we examined the distribution of average one-way commuting time by gender and age group in 2019 and 2025, both nationwide and by region. The results indicate that, at both points in time, commuting time increases with age among men, whereas among women, it decreases from the 40s onward. In addition, commuting time was confirmed to be longer for both men and women in the Tokyo metropolitan area. For women, the results suggest that regional differences in the relationship between age and commuting time observed in 2019 may have narrowed by 2025. In the next installment (Part 2), we will examine how the distribution of commuting time by gender and age group has changed nationwide from 2019 to 2025.

References
Aritome, J. & Ogata, N. (1997). Gender characteristic of commuting pattern: A case study of the Osaka metropolitan area. [in Japanese] Japanese Journal of Human Geography 49: 47–63.

Bütikofer, A., Karadakic, R., & Willén, A. (2025). Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Commuting. Journal of Public Economics, 248, 105371.

Casado-Díaz, J. M., Simón-Albert, R. & Simón, H. (2023). Gender Differences in Commuting: New Evidence from Spain. Social Indicators Research, 169, 907–941.

Giménez-Nadal, J. I., Molina, J. A. & Velilla, J. (2022). Trends in Commuting Time of European Workers: A Cross-Country Analysis. Transport Policy, 116, 327–342.

Lång, E., & Börjesson, M. (2025). Gender Differences in Commuting Distance: A Temporal Analysis of Changes and (Un)explained Gaps. Research in Transportation Economics, 112, 101597.

Statistics Bureau of Japan (2022), Summary of Results of the 2021 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities (Press Release). https://www.stat.go.jp/data/shakai/2021/index.html (Accessed December 15, 2025).