The Bank of Japan publishes quarterly statistics on Japanese national flow of funds accounts in Excel format, in English, on their website.

The following is quoted from the “Guide to Japan’s Flow of Funds Accounts“:

“The Bank of Japan has been compiling the Flow of Funds Accounts Statistics (the FFA) since 1958, covering the data from 1954. The FFA is released quarterly, and preliminary data is released on the 11th business day of the last month in the following quarter, and final data on the fourth business day of the last month in the second quarter after the surveyed quarter. In principle, the FFA is revised retroactively at the same time with the final data for the first quarter is released (the fourth business day in September) as final data for the previous fiscal year can be obtained at this time.”

“The FFA is a matrix showing financial transactions among various economic entities, and corresponding stock data on financial claims and liabilities of them. It records movements of financial assets and liabilities among institutional units called sectors, such as financial institutions, corporations and households, for each financial instruments called transaction items i.e., deposits and loans.”

In March 2004, news tickers reported a larger trade deficit. The Fed announced its decision to raise short term interest. Bond traders, crowded elbow to elbow on their communal desks, alerted by blaring bull horns, were quick to react. Intermediate and long bond prices fell sharply.

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