Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

January 10 , 2003

Q.

Could you tell us the schedule and purpose of your business trip to Australia ?

A.

Basically, a while ago, we received a request from a group of researchers and experts on Japan led by Professor Peter Drysdale at the Australian National University to hold a lecture and a discussion on structural reform currently carried out by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Since my appointment to the post of Minister, I have visited the U.S., Europe, and a number of key countries in Asia, but I have not been to Australia yet. I wanted to deepen their understanding of the current status of structural reform in Japan and exchange opinions with their senior government officials, considering that Australia has experienced such reform along with New Zealand, including new public management. The event realized, albeit in such a short period of time.