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	II ) DESCRIPTION OF STATISTICAL SURVEYS AND OTHER STATISTICAL FINDINGS

4. NATIONAL ACCOUNTS

	4.1	Annual Report on National Accounts (Processed Statistics), Preliminary Quarterly Estimates of GDP (Processed Statistics)
	4.2	Input-Output Tables (Processed Statistics)

4.1 Annual Report on National Accounts (Processed Statistics)

Preliminary Quarterly Estimates of GDP (Processed Statistics)

Responsible agency: Department of National Accounts, Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office.

Purpose: This document provides detailed figures concerning the working of the Japanese economy, in terms of the internationally-used "System of National Accounts (SNA)".

Contents: GDP, breakdown of GDP by demand component (consumption, investment, etc.), national income, savings rate, figures related to national wealth, etc. (See Table 4-1)

[Outline of Compilation]

Date and cycle of compilation: The "Annual Report on National Accounts" is prepared every year (based on the 93SNA from 2000 onwards and based on the 68SNA from 1978 to 1999). The main related tables have been prepared from 1980 through 2003. Most of the figures on these tables have been released for these years. However, some of the real values have been released only for 1994 through 2003.

The "Quarterly Estimates of GDP" is prepared twice every quarter (the first one in about a month and two weeks after the end of the relevant quarter, and the second one in about two months and 10 days after the end of the relevant quarter). The figures related to GDP (expenditures) have been published for the Jan. – Mar. quarter 1994 through the Oct. – Dec. quarter 2005.

Compilation method: Systematic and consistent integration of five accounts: national income account, input-output tables, flow of funds tables, international balance of payment tables, and the national balance sheets, which had developed for their respective uses based on the 93SNA proposed by the UN in 1993. Estimation method: the basic statistics related to the respective items are processed using an appropriate estimation method so that they should conform to the SNA, to ensure integrity.

The "Quarterly Estimates of GDP" is prepared by aggregating the basic statistics available at the time of preparation or by using basic statistics and other related statistics that reflect the trends of the respective items.

Tabulation items: The tabulation items are summarized into the following three accounts: 1) current accounts (income and outlay account, etc.) for the recording of the production of goods and services, and the distribution and use of incomes generated from production, 2) savings accounts (capital finance account, etc.) for the recording of changes in assets and liabilities, and 3) the balance sheet for the recording of the assets and liabilities balances (stocks). These accounts are tabulated into the consolidated account for the nation as a whole. Additionally, to show the activities of the main transaction entities, the items are recorded by dividing them into five institutions and sectors namely non-financial corporations, financial corporations, general government, households, and private non-profit institutions serving households. Transactions vis-á-vis overseas are placed in the overseas account.

In addition, GDP which is the most important SNA indicator can be captured from the three aspects of production (generation of value added), income (allocation of costs and production factors to production) and expenditure (demand for final products) ("Principle of Equivalent of Three Aspects"). To illustrate this point, the figures related production, income and outlay are tabulated in the form of the main related tables. Moreover, numerous appendix tables and reference tables are prepared to show the framework of national accounts and improve users' convenience.

The Quarterly Estimates of GDP tabulates GDP (expenditures) and its breakdown by demand component.

Methods and dates of publication:

(1)Annual Report on National Accounts
-	The data are published at the end of the following year. The Report itself is published around March two years later.
-	Published in the forms of electronic media (CD-ROMs and Internet) and publications.
(2)Quarterly Estimates of GDP
-	Published two times, once around a month and two weeks after the end of the relevant quarter and the second around two months and 10 days after the end of the relevant quarter.
-	Published in the forms of electronic media (Internet) and publications.

Language: In Japanese and English

Sales organization:	Government Publication Service Center	FAX : +81-3-3504-3889

Internet sites:	http://www.cao.go.jp/index-e.html
	http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/en/sna/menu.html

Table 4-1 Changes in Gross Domestic Expenditure

(Increase rate compared with previous year)

Boxed Article 7

1993 SNA:

In 1993, the United Nations Statistical Committee adopted a proposed revision of the SNA (93SNA) for the first time in 25 years. After receiving a report from the National Accounts Study Council set up to investigate the revisions and improvements to the SNA required for the shift to 93SNA, the National Accounts Department determined the outline, definition and scope, and estimation methods and revised the estimates for the period from FY1990 to FY1998. The shift to the 1993 system was implemented at the end of October 2000.

Boxed Article 8

Satellite Accounts:

Satellite accounts are required in 93SNA to provide detailed information on specific areas such as the environment, voluntary work, household finances, and education. To this end, medium- and long-term studies taking account of international trends are being conducted on environmental and economic accounting aimed at the integration of economics and the environment. In addition, research and development of Nonprofit Satellite Account is addressed in order to grasp the economic scale of Nonprofit organization’s sector, of which activities have been noticed in recent years.

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4.2 Input-Output Tables (Processed Statistics)

Responsible agency: Director for Statistical Clearance, Director-General for Policy Planning (Statistical Standards), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Purpose: The inter-industry and inter-household distribution of goods and services produced in Japan by various industries over a one-year period are systematically entered in matrix tables.

The Input-Output Tables developed by Dr. Leontief (b. 1906 in Russia, d. 1999), a U.S. Nobel laureate economist, are widely recognized for their usefulness and importance in the analysis of economic/industrial structures and for economic forecasting and are now adopted by over 50 countries. In Japan, the standardized Input-Output tables have been compiled every five years since the first tables in 1955. They are widely used by administrative agencies of the Government as well as in economics survey and by research organizations in the private sector for economic forecasts, economic planning, predicting the effectiveness of public investments, estimating demand for a particular industry, and analyzing the impact of the fluctuation of the exchange rate on domestic prices.

The Input-Output Tables are the most important and indispensable statistics for the revision of standards and extended estimation of GDP for the calculation of the National Accounts by the Cabinet Office.

Contents: Table 1 is a sample (13 sectors) showing an overall picture of the 2000 input-output Tables (estimates).

Reading the Table yields information on the domestic production of goods and services in a given field and the components of costs inputted to the product. Similarly, information on output (sales), which is an indication of demand for domestically produced of goods and services as well as import in a given field can be obtained by looking at the columns and rows in the Table.

[Outline of Report]

Report frequency and date (or period): The tables are made every five years, in AD years ending with a 0 or a 5. The 2000 Tables is the latest, and a preliminary report has been published in August 2003 and the final report in March 2004. In March 2005, a comparative Input-Output Table for the years 1990, 1995 and 2000 has been published. At present, the work for preparing the 2005 Tables is underway.

Method of preparing report: The collection, analysis, and standardized tabulation of items from a huge amount of statistical data and administrative records over an extensive area are essential for creating input-output tables. Japan views the task as a 5-year joint operation and therefore assigns the task of preparing the Report to the Cabinet Office, Financial Service Agency, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Ministry of the Environment, with the Director-General for Policy Planning (Statistical Standards), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications acting as coordinator.

Each ministry or agency (including the Cabinet Office) is responsible for matters within its jurisdiction. Each sector consists of about 5,200 items. Basic reference data are quite extensive, ranging from administrative records on official sanctions to material on business organizations. In addition, special surveys or inquiries on related industries are carried out on incomplete sectors.

Publication (name and date) of report: The 2000 Report has been published in three separate volumes: Explanatory Report, Data Report (1), and Data Report (2).

The Explanatory Report depicts the overall picture of the 2000 input-output tables, arranged for ready comprehension through a practical introduction of the responsible agencies and method of producing the Input-Output Tables, outline of the Tables, various coefficients and calculations for Input-Output analysis, types of supplementary tables, and concept, definition, and scope of each sector and method of estimation.

Data Report (1) contains the transaction tables (output and input tables) using the basic sector classification (517 x 405 sectors), and domestic production value tables by sector and item which constitutes the transaction tables base.

Data Report (2) contains the transaction tables using the aggregated sector classification (188 sectors and 104 sectors) and various corresponding coefficient tables, such as total input as well as various appendices.

These three volumes are available in Japanese only. An English summary of the three volumes, however, is separately published. Relevant magnetic tapes and magneto-optical disk are also availableThe 2000 input-output tables were published in March, 2004.

Language: Commentary (including certain tables) is available in English.

Sales office: Publication and magnetic tape: National Federation of Statistical Associations
fax: +81-3-5291-5471

Internet Site: Outline and data summary (download Japanese and English)
http://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.htm
http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/io/index.htm

Related statistics:Regional Block Tables (Regional Bureaus of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), Prefectural Tables (Prefectures).

Table 4-2 Input-Output Table Valued at Purchasers' Prices (13 Sectors)

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