Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

September 20 , 2005

Q.

In connection with the problem regarding the unjust refusal to pay out life insurance money, the Chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Japan indicated last week the possibility of companies other than Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company refusing to make such payments. While it is understood that the deadline for reporting to the Financial Services Agency (FSA) is the end of September, please describe your current view on this problem spreading to other companies, and the actions to be taken if other companies have unjustly refused to make payments.

A.

As just mentioned, we are currently demanding all life insurance companies to re-inspect their management systems for insurance money payments, review cases in which payments have been refused, and report the results by September 30 pursuant to the Insurance Business Law. In regards to the said press conference of the Chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Japan, I believe his response was in reference to such possibility. As for what will happen depending on the results of the reports, we cannot say how we will respond until we actually receive and see the reports, so I would prefer not to comment on this. Generally speaking, however, it goes without saying that it is extremely important to first deal with the customer in a proper manner, if it is revealed that an insurance company has refused to pay insurance money in an inappropriate fashion.

Q.

The Nikkei Stock Average reached ¥13,000 for the first time in four years today. What is your assessment of this, and your analysis of the factors behind it from the standpoint of financial administration?

A.

There are various factors which cause fluctuations in stock prices, and it is extremely difficult to determine those factors, so I will refrain from making any comments directly on this. Speaking in general terms, Japan was experiencing negative economic growth in the early days of the Koizumi Cabinet, and there was a time when the Nikkei was at the ¥7,000 level, while I was in charge of financial administration and in the process of working on financial revitalization. Under these circumstances, we pushed ahead with structural reform and made steady progress. The growing appreciation of such progress following the recent recovery of the Nikkei Stock Average may be one of the factors, judging from what we are hearing from the market. As financial reform is one of the keys to structural reform from our point of view, we will make steady efforts in financial reform in accordance with the Program for Further Financial Reform in order to further boost the Japan's economy vitality to facilitate its sustained growth in the future, while acknowledging the importance of steadily implementing the measures in the Program.