Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

18 December, 2001

Q.

I feel that Minister's remarks about how to respond to the financial crisis have slightly changed. For example in your speech in September, you only pointed out the fact, saying, ''¥15 trillion is always available for injection'' with regard to the account to respond to a financial crisis. Recently, however, you have said ''It is natural to inject public funds if a crisis takes place.'' Also at yesterday's press conference, Commissioner Mori said, ''We would inject public funds without hesitation in case of crisis.'' Thus, the nuance has changed.

Would you say this is an adjustment of Government's stance? What would you yourself think about the perception that the Government has changed their stance? Please answer these two questions.

A.

That is not necessarily the case. As I have repeatedly said to you, and spoken at Diet sessions and made speeches, ''There is no problem in the basic soundness of Japanese financial institutions'' and that has been our consistent view. A practical matter, however, bank stock prices are dropping. If the market is selling banks stocks based on speculation that bank are falling into the shortage of capital or risking their capital adequacy, the Government will never overlook such situation. In short, I would like the public to look at things more calmly. Expressions you have just pointed are an outcome of our desire to ask investors to have a fair and objective perspective on the situation and available mechanism. For this very reason, I say, at times, ''There is this system,'' and ''We would decisively go ahead when the situation warrants it.''