Self–informant agreement for subjective well-being among Japanese

•Life satisfaction has convergent validity even in Japan.•Life satisfaction showed lower agreement than the previous studies in the U.S.•Life satisfaction produced lower agreement than extraversion.

The present study examined the convergence between self- and informant-ratings for well-being among Japanese students. A total of 202 same-sex friend pairs completed self-reports and informant reports of life satisfaction, domain satisfaction, positive and negative affect, extraversion, and neuroticism. Life satisfaction and other variables showed significant self–informant agreement correlations, thereby establishing their convergent validity. However, the size of agreement on life satisfaction was lower than the previous findings conducted in the United States, whereas other variables did not differ from previous results. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the size of agreement between life satisfaction and extraversion; that is, life satisfaction produced lower agreement than extraversion.