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(1) Annual exchanges of statistical missions with China and Korea
(2) Receiving visitors from abroad
(3) Technical cooperation programs through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
2. Activities related to international statistical conferences
(1) Annual exchanges of statistical missions with China and Korea
The Bureau has been promoting exchanges of statistical missions with China every year since 1980. This annual exchange program has greatly boosted technical cooperation in statistical activities between the two countries, for example, on the enumeration system and methodology for China’s 1982 Population Census. A similar annual exchange program with Korea commenced in 1982. In both cases, each country sends a group of statisticians to visit the statistical office of the other.
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| The 25th Korean Statistical Mission to Japan | The 27th Chinese Statistical Mission to Japan |
(2) Receiving visitors from abroad
Japan welcomes overseas statistical missions visiting Japan for specific purposes. The Bureau acts as a coordinator to receive such delegations, and provides them with information and data as requested.
Moreover, the Bureau receives more than 100 international visitors every year, and exchanges information and views on the statistical system, as well as the methods and the technologies involved in censuses and statistical surveys including the Population Census, the Retail Price Survey, the Labor Force Survey and the CPI. Trainees at the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) occasionally visit the Bureau to observe various statistical activities.
(3) Technical cooperation programs through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
The Bureau sends statistical experts to other countries for extended periods on a request basis for technical cooperation, for example, for a country’s Population Census. In most cases, the experts are dispatched as part of JICA international cooperation programs. Experts have been sent to Mexico, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Argentina, Myanmar, and Cambodia, in approximate chronological order.
In addition, the Bureau accepts trainees from other countries participating in JICA programs.
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| Statistical Training of Staff from South America |
Statistical Experts to the National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia |
(1) Participation in international statistical conferences
The Bureau dispatches experts to international conferences, seminars, etc. organized by the United Nations (UN), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and other groups on the Population Censuses, the CPI, the Labour Force Surveys, and the Business Survey Frames, etc., thus contributing to the development of international statistics.
The Director-General of the Bureau is an Ex-officio Member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), and a number of current and former staff members of the Bureau have been registered as selected individual members, acknowledging that the Bureau pays careful attention to ISI matters. The Bureau has participated in the assembly session of the ISI, which is held every two years.
(2) Hosting international statistical conferences
The Bureau occasionally hosts international statistical conferences. Since 1980, the Bureau has hosted the East Asian Statistical Conference, mostly in Japan, at intervals of two or three years. The conferences facilitate exchanges of information and views, and improve official statistics and statistical administration in the region. The member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. The latest conference (the 12th) was held in Tokyo in November 2008, and was attended by 31 statisticians from 15 countries and 3 international organizations.
The 12th East Asian Statistical Conference
Also the Bureau co-hosted the International Symposium on Development of Official Statistics organized by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo in November 2007, inviting distinguished statisticians from statistical offices of the UN, the USA, the UK, Australia, China and Korea.
The symposium aimed to exchange views and experiences regarding the development of official statistics from an international perspective, and lively discussions were held at each session.
International Symposium on Development of Official Statistics
The Bureau publishes the “News Bulletin” quarterly to disseminate the statistical activities of the Bureau, and also publishes various census and survey reports, and distributes these to other countries and international organizations. The “News Bulletin” is also released on the website: http://www.stat.go.jp/english/info/news/index.htm
Moreover, the Bureau has set up and is making improvements to its Internet English website (http://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.htm) to provide statistical data and information retrieval services. Users can access statistical organizations within and outside Japan through the link.
The Bureau also responds actively to requests for statistical information submitted by the governments of other countries and users. It received about 70 requests, mainly by e-mail, in 2010.
