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The Statistics Council was established in August 1952 as a permanent advisory organ on government statistics. The duties and responsibilities of the Council are, in response to a request from the Minister of the MIC, to examine statistical survey plans, to establish statistical standards, to study and deliberate on important matters relating to overall coordination and statistical report coordination, and to make recommendations on such matters as necessary.
The Council consists of eleven leading experts in statistics.
The Council meets regularly once a month and has 7 working groups studying and deliberating on important matters related to statistics, in order to assist the Council. Since its start, the Council has played a major role in the development and improvement of Japan's statistical system.
The Statistics Council submitted the report titled "New Strategies for Government Statistical Services for the Coming Decade" to the Director -General of MCA on 10 March 1995.
The report gave the framework of government statistical activities for about 10 years period after the reporting.
Regarding the measures described in this report, MIC is promoting to implement them in cooperation with the other ministries and agencies concerned. The conference for the promotion of the New Strategies for Government Statistical Services for the Coming Decade ",composed of relevant ministries and agencies, was established in April 1995 for the steady implementation of the report.
The main points of the report are as follows:
Statistics on business enterprises and establishments shall be
improved in order to measure actual conditions of business activities
which are getting more complex and diverse under the changes such as the
appreciation of the yen, the growing services orientation of the economy
and increasing orientation toward informative and international
societies. For instance, the Establishment Census shall be reorganized
into a Business Enterprise and Establishment Census (provisional title)
and a Statistical Frame of the Business Enterprises and Establishments
(provisional title) as the population information of business
enterprises and establishments shall be compiled.
Since household
structure is changing, a study shall be made on the measures necessary
for the total comparison and analysis of statistical surveys measuring
household activities to grasp condition of households
comprehensively.Statistics on family budget and consumption shall be
reviewed to cope with individualization of household budget and increase
of single- person households.
In order to secure smooth implementation of statistical surveys and to maintain the accuracy of statistics, timing of major statistical surveys shall be reviewed,then they shall be implemented according to the schedule for the coming decade stipulated in this report.
To maintain and improve statistics efforts have to be made to reduce
the burden on respondents. Measures should be taken such as reflection
of the opinions respondents of spondents, development of indicators
measuring the redtion of reporting burdens and improvement of survey
methods using new technologies as well as improving simplicity and
efficiency of surveys and eliminating duplication of survey items
through the process of statistical clearance.
To secure the smooth
and efficient implementation of statistical surveys in severe
environment with limited staff, supports to statistical departments of
local governments shall be enhanced such as filling up statistical
training for statistical personnel, promotion of office automation in
statistical survey works and assistance to activation of the statistics
departments of local governments. Measures to secure statistical
enumerators shall also be enhanced.
Generally, statistical date shall be provided in the expedited and convenient way, and supply measures of survey results shall be diversified in response to needs. Definitely, dissemination of statistics shall be expedited through the release of partial tabulation or tentative figures when there is s strong demand of users for early publication. Additional tables shall be actively compiled. Consideration of the supply of sample data sets shall be initialed. Use of new information and communication technology for data provision of shall be promoted such as provision of survey results through on- line network.
In order to secure smooth and efficient implementation of statistical
surveys and to maintain the accuracy of statistics, current
technological innovation shall be exploited in the process of data
collection such as data collection through on-line networks.
The
efficiency of statistical surveys shall be improved through the use of
sampling in censuses or large scale sample surveys, or joint
implementation of plural statistical surveys. Study on standardization
of statistical surveys shall also be initiated.
Given the increasing requests for international contribution from Japan in the statistics field, the comparability of statistics needs to be improved enhance the external use of these and to progressively promote international cooperation in the statistics field.
