jSTAT MAP: A new geostatistics web service for small area census data and its impact

Issue title: Special Section on Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Makita, Naoki

Affiliations: Director for International Statistical Affairs, under Director-General for Policy Planning on Statistical Standards, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 19-1, Wakamatsu cho, Shinjuku ku, Tokyo, 162-8668, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 5273 1145; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: As the age of open data and data visualization arrives, the Statistics Bureau of Japan and the National Statistics Center of Japan have released a new geostatistics web service. Called jSTAT MAP, the web service can aggregate data and produce choropleth maps based on small area statistics, whether they may be census data or users' own data. jSTAT MAP has expanded horizons for the integration of statistical and geospatial information and acquired a new statistical user base in Japan. This paper describes the key elements of jSTAT MAP and reports on the impact it has brought about on statistical users.

Keywords: Web map service, small area statistics, statistics dissemination, open data

DOI: 10.3233/SJI-150233

Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 471-479, 2016