Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Using a general-purpose panel survey in Japan (2016–2024; N > 32,000), we identify gender-report changers (GRCs) as respondents whose self-reported gender changed in at least one survey wave. This identification is entirely incidental: the survey had no gender-minority research objective, and respondents had no reason to anticipate any gender-related analysis. GRC status is therefore a behavioral measure of reporting instability, not an identity measure, and its identification does not introduce recruitment-based selection bias. We employ ordered logit models and average marginal effect analysis. GRC status was associated with 7% lower likelihood of reporting happiness and 12% lower likelihood of reporting good health, consistent with the minority stress literature. GRC status was also associated with lower endorsement of both women's empowerment policies and traditional marriage norms, a pattern that may be consistent with discomfort with binary gender frameworks rather than a coherent political ideology. Additionally, GRC status was associated with lower independent career decision-making and lower general social trust. All findings are exploratory given the small GRC subsample (n = 27 individuals; approximately 200 observations). The results suggest a complex set of associations between reporting instability in gender and social conformity.</p>