Finding primary sources

What we actually opened during this course, and what we learned doing it. The steps are the same at work. Rules described here were checked at the source on 6 September 2026.

Checking a company's numbers in its own filings

Numbers in news articles usually come from the company's own filings. Open those instead. For listed companies both are free.

Kessan tanshin (earnings summary): A fast summary. The Tokyo Stock Exchange asks for it within 45 days of the year end (30 is preferred). It comes out before the audit finishes.
Yukashoken hokokusho (annual securities report): The statutory, audited filing under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Later than the summary, and far more detailed.
Where to find them: Annual reports are on EDINET, run by the Financial Services Agency. Earnings summaries are easiest to reach from each company's own investor relations page.
Always check the fiscal year: "FY ending March 2025" means April 2024 to March 2025. Companies differ: Fast Retailing ends in August, Shiseido in December.
Telling forecasts from actuals: An earnings summary carries both. A forecast is the company's own expectation, not a verified figure. Do not mix the two.
Private companies may simply not disclose: Disclosure duties differ, so even revenue can be unavailable. Not finding it does not always mean you looked badly.

Finding statistics

National statistics are gathered on e-Stat; city statistics live on the city's own site. Session 4 starts from these two.

Start at e-Stat: Statistics from every ministry, in one place. Some tables go down to the municipality.
For a city, the city's own site is faster: Koriyama publishes population by district and single year of age as spreadsheets.
Check which year the survey is from: Surveys run on cycles. A page labelled "latest" may still be a survey from several years back, and final figures can take a year or two.
Some surveys have been discontinued: One METI survey ended in 2018 and was folded into another, yet articles citing it are still online. Check that a survey still exists before using its name.
Check what the figure counted: One statistic may count only domestic production and exclude imports. The numbers are not wrong; the scope differs.

Tracing an article's market-size figure back to its source

Look for the source's name: It is often in small type at the end of the article or in a corner of the chart. If no source is named, it is safer not to use the figure.
The trail can end at a paid report: Some industry figures originate in reports you have to buy. Once you know that, you cannot verify the number yourself.

Some things cannot be verified

How to write when the answer does not come. Getting this right is what makes you trusted.

Say that you could not confirm it: "Not confirmable from public information" is more accurate than a plausible-looking number.
Ask whether you can count it yourself: If no statistic exists, you can sometimes measure it directly — and that can be more reliable.
Use a near-enough figure, and say so: If you substitute a differently scoped number, state the substitution so the reader can judge it.
Write down when you checked: Statistics and rules change. A date lets a later reader re-check. Everything on this page was verified on 6 September 2026.

Using libraries

You do not have to buy books. Every book in our reading list carries a library link.

A book missing from your library can often be brought in: Koriyama's libraries let cardholders reserve items and have them moved between branches. Students who commute into the city can get a card.
Find books held by university libraries: CiNii Research shows which university libraries hold a book. Whether you may visit and read it depends on that university.
The National Diet Library's digital collections: Out-of-print material can be read from home through a registered account. Registration requires you to be 18 or over, with photo ID.