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The 1920 Japan Census Medal was given to official census takers or those employed by the Census Bureau. The medal was instituted by Imperial Edict on 17 June 1921 to acknowledge those who participated and assisted in the first national Japanese census that began on 1 October 1920.

There is only one official census medal for Japan, although a few censuses were taken from 1920 until the end of the war. Each was taken every five years except for 1945 (because of the war). The official records show that the Japanese national census took place in these years: 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, 1947, 1950, and so on every five years.