The present study was conducted to revise the Japanese version of the Depressive States Checklist (JDSC), and to evaluate the construct validity of the revised version. Undergraduate students participated in two questionnaire studies. In Study 1, items with sufficient face validity and factorial validity representing the self-devaluative view and affective components were selected for the revised version of the J-DSC (JDSC-R). In Study 2, each factor of the J-DSC-R showed adequate construct validity because the correlation coefficients among the factors of the J-DSC-R, depressive symptoms, and depressive rumination generally supported the hypothesis. The J-DSC-R can be used to contribute to the understanding of vulnerability to depression.