The Economic Planning Agency concealed the opinions of some of its panel members who believe the economy entered a recession months ago, it was learned Monday.

Some panel members say it is obvious the economy peaked last May and has since entered a recessionary phase, noting the EPA is apparently withholding this assessment for political considerations.

Despite dismal economic indicators and the views of private-sector economists, an official decision of whether the economy is in a recession must be made by a panel of seven scholars under the director of the EPA's Research Bureau.

According to the agency and to panel members, this was not on the official agenda at a panel meeting held in December. But during an informal discussion during the meeting, some panelists pointed out that the economy had entered a recession.

Yet after the meeting, Yasuhiro Asami, chief of the Research Bureau, told reporters that none of the panelists mentioned the word "recession." He also quoted one of the members as saying Japan had not yet entered a recession in statistical terms.

Asami explained Monday that the EPA's diffusion index of coincident economic indicators for September -- the most recent available data when the December meeting was held -- was above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent. He said that because the government's assessment of the economy depends on such official statistics, he omitted the "individual" opinions voiced by panel members during the meeting. He also admitted that his briefing to reporters at that time was "insufficient."

Last week, the EPA announced that the coincident index stood at a preliminary 0 percent in December, staying below the boom-or-bust threshold for the third month in a row. Still, it has yet to use the term "recession."