Japan - Nominal Gross Domestic Product

For Japan, quarterly national accounts including the expenditure approach (GDP(E)), and annual national accounts including the income and output approaches (GDP(I) and GDP(O)). GDP measures the total value of final goods and services produced by domestic institutional units during the period. To estimate the quarterly wage and salary levels, the quarterly estimates use as the basis the total wage/salaries in the Jan-Mar quarter (as mentioned in the latest annual estimation) derived from "Annual Report on the Labor Force Survey," "Annual Report on the Monthly Labour Survey" and various financial statements, and grasps the increase/decrease in employees (from "Monthly Report on the Labour Force Survey") and the wage/salaries per employee from "Monthly Labour Survey"; and then, conducts a quarter-to-quarter ratio comparison of wages/salaries as obtained by adjusting the coverage difference between "Annual Report" and "Monthly Report." 

Active:

• Framework: UN SNA 2008
• Industry classification: JSIC 13
• Measurements:
  • Billions of Japanese yen at chained year-2015 prices (Bil. 2015 JPY)
  • At current prices (Bil. JPY)
  • Deflators relative to 2015 (Index 2015=100)
• Adjustments:
  
  • Seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR)
  • Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequencies:
  • Quarterly
  • Annual
• Start dates:
  • 1994Q1
  • 1994

Predecessors:

• 2011 prices, quarterly - 1994 to 2020
• 2011 prices, annual - 1994 to 2018
• 2005 prices - 1994 to 2016
• 2000 prices - 1980 to 2011
• 2000 prices - 1980 to 2008

The source writes:

Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) produces both real and nominal GDP, classified by economic activity.  The industries are classified using 2011 as their benchmark year for "Input-Output Price Index of the Manufacturing Industry by Sector."

The data also includes the statistical discrepancy associated with GDP, and GDP without the discrepency.  However, for chained GDP, statistical discrepancy cannot be defined.

Scope of the data

Transactions coverage: All resident household and legal entity institutional units are covered in the source data by using supply-side’s commodity-flow method.

Geographical coverage: The data cover the entire Japanese economy. The delineation of the constituent units of the economy is broadly in accordance with the SNA 2008.

Annual supply and use tables are compiled. In addition, annual input-output tables, consistent with the final annual national accounts data, are compiled, along with the detailed five-yearly benchmark input-output tables compiled as a joint project between ESRI and nine other ministries and agencies. Furthermore, institutional sector accounts are compiled on an annual basis, inclusive of financial flow accounts and balance sheets. Aggregated capital stock data are also compiled. 

Source data definitions, scope, classifications, valuation, and time of recording

Major sources are shown below. Some source data are not consistent with the definitions, classifications, and requirements of the national accounts, and they are adjusted before used in the compilation.

• Expenditure approach: Input-Output Tables (five yearly), Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations, Balance of Payments Statistics, settlement of accounts of central and local governments, Survey on Non-Profit Organizations.
• Income approach: Population Census (five yearly), Flow of Funds Accounts, Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations.
• Production approach: Input-Output Table (five yearly), Census of Manufactures, Census of Commerce, Trade Statistics, Data of Customs.

For concepts: Compensation of employees

The source writes:

Employer's actual social contribution

Employer's actual social contribution is made up of "compulsory actual social contribution" (welfare pension, welfare insurance special account, health insurance by private mutual association, employers' contribution to each mutual benefit society) obligated by law or regulation, and voluntarily-borne "voluntary actual social contribution" (employers' contributions to pension fund (welfare pension fund, etc)).

To estimate voluntary actual social contribution, the quarterly estimates use the Jan-Mar quarter value (as mentioned in the most recent annual estimation) as the basis, and collects information from basic materials of various pension funds, including "Monthly Report on the Labor Force Survey" and "Monthly Labour Survey." This is how it is calculated.

Employer's imputed social contribution

Regarding lump-sum retirement allowances that occupy a significant portion of employer's imputed social contribution, the quarterly estimates use as the basis the Jan-Mar value (as mentioned in the latest annual estimation derived from "Annual Statistical Report of the National Tax Administration," financial statements of central and local governments and the number of displaced workers data in "Monthly Labour Survey"), estimates the number of displaced workers from the job separation rate data in "Monthly Labour Survey," and conducts a quarter-to-quarter comparison of the number of dispatched workers to calculate the QE quarterly value.

Other categories of employer's imputed social contribution would include public service-related accidents, liability insurance for workers' accidents, etc. The quarterly estimates use as the basis the Jan-Mar value as mentioned in the latest annual estimation, and estimates quarterly preliminary values by collecting data from source materials: "Monthly Report on the Labour Force Survey" and "Monthly Labour Survey.

To estimate the compulsory actual social contribution, the quarterly estimates use as the basis the Jan-Mar quarter value (as mentioned in the latest annual estimates) and collects information on applicable insurance premium rates and basic materials relating to various insurance systems and mutual aids(amount and rate of employers' contribution), such as "Monthly Report on the Labor Force Survey" and "Monthly Labour Survey." Based on these materials and data, the value for the corresponding quarter is estimated.

For table: Distribution of national income and national disposable income

The source writes:

Usually, National Income indicates "4. National income".

Entrepreneurial income (primary income balance) = Operating surplus and mixed income, net + Property income, receivable - Property income, payable.

Entrepreneurial income of (private) corporations = Operating surplus, net + Property income, receivable - Property income of which interest, other investment income and rent, payable, for (private) non-financial and financial corporations.

Moody's Analytics supplements

We extend the current-price SA series to 1955 by using ESRI and IMF data.

For select current-price SA series, we calculate USD equivalents.

The revision cycle is stable from year to year. The preliminary quarterly estimates are revised with each new release, incorporating revisions to the source data. Annual revisions take place about 9 month after the reference fiscal year. Except for the benchmark revisions which take place every fifth year, the annual and quarterly data become final with the second release of annual revisions about 21 months after the reference fiscal year. However, as the seasonal factors are recalculated every quarter, the seasonally adjusted quarterly data will show minor changes with each new release.

At the time of data release, it is clearly stated whether released data are first preliminary, second preliminary, or revised annual estimates. When revisions outside the regular cycle are made, they are explained in the published materials and on the ESRI website “Notice on Usage.”

The benchmark year (currency reference year) is advanced about every five years.

For Compensation of Employee data: 

Nominal value for original series is estimated on a quarter-to-quarter comparison of source statistics. It is a quarterly release.

Real value for original series is calculated by dividing the employees compensation (original series, nominal) by the household final consumption expenditure deflator (except for imputed rent).

Regarding the seasonally adjusted value, the nominal value (for wage/salaries, employer's actual social contribution, and employer's imputed social contribution) is obtained by conducting seasonal adjustment with X-12-ARIMA; however, the real value is calculated by dividing the seasonally adjusted nominal value (except for imputed rent) by the household final consumption expenditure's seasonally adjusted deflator (calculated as "seasonally adjusted nominal value / seasonally adjusted real value").

Further reading

At the source:

• http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/en/sna/data/kakuhou/files/2015/29annual_reference_e.html

At IMF (SDDS-Plus):

• Real sector - National accounts