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The Statistics Bureau and the Director-General for Policy Planning (Statistical Standards) of Japan play the central role in the official statistical system in producing and disseminating basic official statistics, and coordinating statistical work under the Statistics Act and other legislation.
We develop and disseminate relevant and reliable statistics, which systematically meet the needs arising from socio-economic changes, and provide them in a timely and proper manner. We strive to contribute to improvement in people's lives and the development of society and economy by providing support to the planning, formulation and evaluation of governmental policies, and assisting rational decision-making by individuals and businesses, and the pursuit of fundamental principles by academia.
We will continue to make every effort to improve the system of official statistics, bearing the following principles in mind, and taking into account the views of users and data providers:
The Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is responsible for Japan's fundamental censuses and statistical surveys.
The Population Census and the Economic Census form the core of the system of official statistics. The Population Census covers all the people living in Japan, which clarifies the status of population and households.
The Economic Census was newly created to clarify the economic activities of establishments and enterprises in all industrial sectors at the same time. This Census is composed of the "Economic Census for Business Frame" which grasps their basic characteristics, and the "Economic Census for Business Activity" which clarifies their economic activity. The "Economic Census for Business Activity" will be conducted in February 2012.
Official statistics compiled from the Population Census and Economic Census are used by the central and local governments to reflect them in planning and monitoring their policies. They are also widely used by the private sector, research institutes and academia.
The Bureau also compiles and publishes fundamental monthly statistics based on sample surveys: the Labour Force Survey providing current employment and unemployment statistics, the Family Income and Expenditure Survey providing statistics on household accounts, and the Consumer Price Index based on the Retail Price Survey.
The Statistics Act is designed in recognition of the fact that official statistics supply critical information which citizens need in order to make reasonable decisions. The purposes of this Act is to promote the systematic and efficient development of official statistics and to ensure the usefulness thereof through specifying basic matters concerning the production and provision of official statistics. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the development of the national economy and enhancement of the living standards of the citizens.
In order to accomplish the intention of the Statistics Act, the Director-General for Policy Planning (Statistical Standards) conducts the planning and drafting of fundamental matters or examination and the adjustment of statistical surveys to coordinate the statistical activities of different ministries.
As recent advances in information technology (IT) dramatically increase the possibilities of using statistical information, user needs are becoming more diverse and complex. Furthermore, the government is faced with the challenge of improving the use of IT in public administration and the dissemination of information.
In consequence, the national government established the "Portal Site of Official Statistics of Japan (e-Stat)" in April 2008 under the leadership of the Bureau. The e-Stat provides a one-stop online service for obtaining statistical information published by ministries on the Internet, and enables users to view and download official statistics with convenient features such as retrieving data by prefecture and municipality, and drawing statistical maps.
The Bureau provides a wide range of information concerning their statistics on a timely basis and in an easy-to-understand form through various publications, a website, and an e-mail newsletter.
The Bureau website, in collaboration with the e-Stat, provides various menus, such as "Statistics" containing the results of censuses and statistical surveys published by the Bureau and "Statistical Compendia", "Statistical System" including the Statistics Act and the Statistical Standard Classifications, and "Study Statistics" for children. The e-mail news letter delivers summaries of the main statistical survey results to subscribers along with the latest information and announcements.
The content of statistical information described above is presented mainly in Japanese and partially in English.
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| Session of the UN Statistical Commission |
The DGPP(SS), acting as a liaison officer, is responsible for the coordination of the international statistical affairs of the entire government. The DGPP(SS) contributes to the development of statistics both at the regional and international levels through the following activities.
1) International statistical conferences: The DGPP(SS), representing the Japanese statistical organizations, participates in key statistical conferences organized by the UN, ESCAP, OECD, etc. The DGPP(SS) also contributes to establishment of the international standards.
2) International statistical activities: The DGPP(SS) coordinates the domestic dimensions of the international statistical projects in which Japan participates. Examples of these are the International Comparison Program (ICP) and the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).
Data and information exchange: The DGPP(SS) provides data to international organizations and foreign countries upon requests. The DGPP(SS) also offers opportunities to exchange international statistical information among concerned organizations of Japan.
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| Opening remarks of the training course at SIAP |
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| A lecture at SIAP |
The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) was established in Japan in 1970 as an international organization to provide training in statistics to officials from countries and territories mainly in the Asia-Pacific region. Based on an agreement between the Japanese government and the UN, the DGPP (SS) supports SIAP training programs with both cash and in-kind contributions as a cooperating agency in the host country. SIAP celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2010. Until the end of December 2010, SIAP had trained over 12,300 officials from 127 countries and territories, some of whom have become heads of national statistical offices. Thus SIAP has been contributing to the strengthening of human resource development in official statistics.
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| The 12th East Asian Statistical Conference |
The Bureau promotes technical cooperation by dispatching statistical experts and inviting trainees in response to requests from foreign countries and international organizations. In addition, the Bureau has been regularly exchanging statistical missions with China and Korea for around 30 years.
The Bureau also hosts international statistical conferences such as the East Asian Statistical Conference to discuss official statistical challenges.
The Statistical Research and Training Institute was established in 1921. After several organizational changes, the Institute integrated the research and publishing functions as well as the training function and the statistical library in 2001.
In April 2003, the Institute was designated as an independent educational institution of the MIC.
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| Statistical Training |
The Institute provides various statistical training courses for the personnel of national and local governments and government-affiliated organizations with the aim of imparting statistical knowledge and skills.
The Institute conducts joint research with guest researchers.
Recent research themes are as follows:
(a) Statistical Analysis for Anti-seismic Reinforcement of Japanese Housing
(b) A Duration Model Analysis of Labour Market Status Transitions with Special Surveys of Labour Force Surveys
(c) An Analysis on the Japanese Youth's Regular/Non-Regular Employment and Unemployment
(d) An Analysis on Japanese Male and Female Job Search Behavior Following Job Quit
(e) Measuring Trend in Hours Worked Using Japanese Micro Data (Part 2): Analysis for Prime Age Female Regular Employees
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| Statistical Publications |
The Institute publishes statistical compendia such as the “Japan Statistical Yearbook” and the “Statistical Handbook of Japan.” The Institute also provides the following compendia on the website: “Japan Monthly Statistics”, which contains monthly, quarterly and/or annual figures for up-to-date fundamental socio-economic statistics in Japan, and “Historical Statistics of Japan”, which covers time-series data for over 100 years, featuring a wide selection of fundamental statistics.
The Statistical Library has acquired a considerable volume of statistical material since the Meiji-era (mid 18th century) as a library of statistical specialties. Bibliographic information can be retrieved via the bibliotheca search engine on the library website.
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| Statistical Museum |
The Statistical Museum was established on October 18 (Statistics Day in Japan) in 1991 in the annex to the Bureau building to mark the 120th anniversary of the Bureau. Historical documents concerning epoch-making events in official statistics since the beginning of the Meiji-era are exhibited in the pavilion. It introduces the history of statistics and the evolution of the statistical system via exhibits and panels.
19-1 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku. Tokyo 162-8668 Japan
TeL: +81-3-5273-1116 FAX: +81-3-5273-1010
E-mail: stat_webmaster@soumu.go.jp
Website: http://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.htm
" Station
" Station
" StationBoard the Toei bus for "Iidabashi" Station (No.62) or "Shinbashi" Station (No. 63), and get off at "Kokuritsu Kokusai Iryo Kenkyu Center (National Center for Global Health and Medicine)" (10 minutes).
Board the Toei bus for "Tokyo Joshi Idai (Tokyo Women's Medical College Hospital)".
1. Get off at "Kokuritsu Kokusai Iryo Kenkyu Center (National Center for Global Health and Medicine)" (20 minutes) if you take bus No.74 or
2. Get off at "Yocho-machi" (5 minutes) if you take bus No.75
