Trade minister Masayuki Naoshima jumped the gun in disclosing Japan's gross domestic product growth data early Monday, raising concerns over the rookie Cabinet's management of information.
Naoshima revealed that quarterly GDP growth marked its largest growth since 2007 at the beginning of a meeting with oil industry executives in a Tokyo hotel where reporters were also present.
He made the disclosure a little after 8 a.m., while the GDP figure wasn't officially released by the government until 8:50 a.m.
The third-quarter growth figures exceeded analyst predictions and reached an annualized 4.8 percent in the July-September quarter.
Naoshima was criticized by analysts, especially because he was meeting with executives of a specific industry. Naoshima later apologized and told reporters he was not aware of the time embargo.
But the premature leak of sensitive market data by a Cabinet member quickly drew fire, with some questioning the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration's command structure.
"It is a regrettable fact and we must make sure that information is managed appropriately. (The GDP) is an important index," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said.
But asked if Naoshima lacked a sense of responsibility and should take the blame for the snafu, Hirano ruled out rushing to judgment.