Home > Statistics > Japan Statistical Yearbook > Chapter 13 Domestic Trade and Services > Explanations
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This chapter contains statistics on wholesale and retail trade and service industries. Data are derived from "Census of Commerce" and "Current Survey of Commerce", both conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and "Survey on Service Industries" by the Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. For information Economic Census for Business Frame, see "6 Business Activities" and for service industry, see "11 Information and Communication / Science and Technology", and for foreign trade, "15 Foreign Trade, Balance of Payments and International Cooperation", and for leisure-related industry, see "23 Culture".
The purpose of the census is to clarify the actual situation of the Japanese commerce industry. The census was started in 1952, and had been taken every two years until 1976, every three years since 1979, and since 1997, it has been conducted every five years with a simplified survey in-between by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The 2004 simplified Census was conducted jointly with the Establishment and Enterprise Census and the Survey on Service Industries in order to minimize response burden and maximize cost-effectiveness.
The census covers publicly-managed and privately-managed establishments belonging to Major Group J of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification (Rev. 11), namely Wholesale and Retail Trade.
The census is conducted through two channels. The one is through prefectures; shi (cities), ku (wards), machi (towns) and mura (villages), and enumerators, who visit establishments and ask to fill out the questionnaires. The other is more direct channel, where questionnaires are filled out at the head office of the enterprise for all the subordinate establishments and submitted to the prefectures or to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Establishments in the premises of non-commercial companies, public offices, schools or factories, establishments without store but engaged in door-to-door sales, mail-order sales, catalogue sales, etc., and establishments in the premises of fee-charging facilities (parks, amusement parks, stations and toll roads) are also covered. However, establishments in the premises of other fee-charging facilities, such as theatres and stadiums, are excluded in principle.
Employees comprise working proprietors, unpaid family workers, paid executives and regular employees, who are mostly engaged in the business of the establishments at the time of the census.
Regular employees refer to those who are called "regular staff", "part-timer", or "temporary employee" and employed <1> without fixed term, or <2> with fixed term of one month or more, or <3> more than 18 days in April and May 2007, respectively.
Annual sales refer to the total sales from April 1 of the previous year through March 31 of the survey year. Starting in 1989, the consumption tax is included in the annual total value of sales. Sales of wholesale trade represent the gross total of sales volumes at each stage of wholesale trade. When the transfer of goods is made between the head and branch offices, the value of transfer from the head office to the branch office is included in the total of sales.
Value of goods in stock refers to the value of all the goods held for sale as of March 31 of the survey year. In principle, they are evaluated at cost prices.
Self-service stores refer to retail establishments adopting the self-service method for 50 percent or more of the sales floor space. The self-service method is a system in which customers select articles, unwrapped or pre-packed with pricing, and pay for them altogether at cash counters placed at the exit of the sales floor.
The survey was started in 1953 by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry with the aim to clarify the trend of sales by wholesale and retail establishments and enterprises. At the beginning, the survey was conducted quarterly, but in October 1959, it was reorganized to a monthly survey. As regards department stores, a separate survey of "Department Store Sales Statistics" had been compiled, but with the revision made in 1978, it was integrated into the "Current Survey of Commerce".
The survey covers wholesale trade and retail trade (excluding agents and brokers) throughout Japan. Large-scale retailers such as department stores and supermarkets with 50 or more employees are surveyed by complete count, while retail establishments with less than 20 employees are selected by area sampling, and other establishments, by direct sampling. The survey is conducted by mail, through the Internet, or by enumerators.
Large-scale retailers refer to department stores and supermarkets, each with 50 employees or more. Department stores are defined as establishments falling under the classification of "department stores and general merchandise supermarkets" by the Japan Standard Industrial Classification, but not corresponding to supermarkets, with a floor space of 3,000 square metres or more in the ku-area of Tokyo and the designated major cities, and of 1,500 square metres or more in other areas. Supermarkets refer to establishments adopting the self-service method for 50 percent or more of floor space, and having at least 1,500 square metres of sales floor space.
The Survey on Service Industries was first conducted in 1989, every five years thereafter and the third one in November 1999, with a purpose to clarify the industrial composition and the size of service establishments and to elucidate their business activities and performances. The 2004 Survey was conducted jointly with the Census of Commerce and the Establishment and Enterprise Census.
The 2004 Survey covered business establishments engaged in the industries shown in the following table. And the sample size is approximately 430 thousand establishments.
| Japan Standard Industrial Classification (Rev. 11) | |
| Major group | Medium group |
| H Information and communications | 41 Video picture, sound information, character information production and distribution |
| L Real estate | 69 Real estate lessors and managers |
| M Eating and drinking places, accommodations | 70 General eating and drinking places 72 Accommodations |
| N Medical, health care and welfare | 73 Medical and other health services 74 Public health and hygiene 75 Social insurance and social welfare |
| O Education, learning support | 77 Miscellaneous educations, learning support |
| P Compound services | 79 Cooperative associations, n.e.c. |
| Q Services, n.e.c. |
80 Professional services, n.e.c. 81 Scientific and development research institutes 82 Laundry, beauty and bath services 83 Miscellaneous living-related and personal services 84 Services for amusement and hobbies 85 Waste disposal business 86 Automobile maintenance services 87 Machine, etc. repair services, except otherwise classified 88 Goods rental and leasing 89 Advertising 90 Miscellaneous business services 91 Political, business and cultural organizations 92 Religion 93 Miscellaneous services |
Sales refers to the annual sales during the year preceding the survey date, that is, the total proceeds from all the business operations of the establishment (actual receipts before subtracting current expenses, wages and salaries, and including consumption tax). Such receipts as interest, dividend, sales of land or buildings, and borrowings are excluded.
