The Input-Output Tables developed by Dr. Leontief (b. 1906 in Russia, d. 1999), a U.S. Nobel laureate economist, are widely recognized for their usefulness and importance in the analysis of economic/industrial structures and for economic forecasting and are now compiled in more than 80 countries.
The Input-Output Tables systematically present and clarify all the economic activities being performed in a single country, showing how goods and services produced by a certain industry in a given year are distributed among the industry itself, other industries, households, etc., and presenting the results in a matrix (row and column) format.
It is generally accepted that input-output tables are useful and important for economic and industrial structural analyses, and economic projections.
Input-Output Table 
Input-Output Tables for Japan have been compiled every five years since 1955 in a joint program involving governmental organizations.
The present members of the joint program are the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (coordinator), the Cabinet Office, the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Ministry of Environment.
The Input-Output Tables are widely used by administrative agencies of the Government as well as in economics survey and by research organizations in the private sector for economic forecasts, economic planning, predicting the effectiveness of public investments, estimating demand for a particular industry, and analyzing the impact of the fluctuation of the exchange rate on domestic prices.
The Input-Output Tables are the most important and indispensable statistics for the revision of standards and extended estimation of GDP for the calculation of the National Accounts by the Cabinet Office.
