Reforms and Crises in Government Statistics: The Case of Japan^*

The calculation of government statistics faces multiple challenges in many countries, of which Japan may have the most acute. This paper examines comprehensive statistics reforms in Japan, especially regarding GDP and related statistics, to identify and rectify the problems. This paper then explains the recent revelation of serious errors in vital wage statistics caused by mismanagement in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and examines their microeconomic and macroeconomic impacts. These statistical errors led to a crisis in public relations, as well as to potentially jeopardizing the functioning of the system of government statistics.