Heavyweights in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday accused the government of misleading the public by giving primary importance to real-term figures in its release of gross domestic product data.

"At a time when the economy is in deflation, only nominal figures can reflect the real state of the economy," said Hiromu Nonaka, former LDP secretary general, in a meeting of the LDP's decision-making General Council.

Earlier in the day, the government said annualized GDP grew 1.6 percent in real terms in fiscal 2002, the first rise in two years. But on a nominal basis, the GDP shrank 0.7 percent, down for the second straight year.

Referring to a comment by Heizo Takenaka, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, that "Japan's real economy is in a slightly better state than expected," Nonaka was blunt.

"That's fraudulent," he said, adding that such a remark shows that Takenaka is trying to evade his responsibility as economic minister.

Taro Aso, chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council, told the meeting that the government must give primacy to nominal figures because real figures are "phony."

Mitsuo Horiuchi, chairman of the General Council, told a news conference, "What the government is doing is like a company window-dressing its financial statements."

The government gives primacy to real figures, or those adjusted for inflation and seasonal factors, in releasing GDP. Nominal figures are unadjusted for such factors.