PRESS RELEASE

                                                 Financial Supervisory Agency

                                                              August 25, 1998

           Announcement of Revised Checklist for the Year 2000 Problem 
                          Used in Financial Inspections 

	Given the extent and severity of the potential impact of computer
 malfunctions during the calendar year 2000, a range of efforts are being
 implemented through a variety of channels to address the Year 2000 problem,
 both in Japan and in other countries. This issue was also raised during the
 Birmingham Summit in May of 1998, during which agreement was reached to
 take further action in important sectors such as financial services.

	On December 24, 1997, the Financial Inspection Department of the 
 Ministry of Finance compiled and published its "Checklist for the Year 2000
 Problem Used in Financial Inspections." The Inspection Department of the
 Financial Supervisory Agency has also continued to appraise the status of
 Year 2000 readiness at financial institutions.

        As a result of this appraisal of the status of financial inspections,
 we have now revised the existing checklist to reflect that we have only a
 little time remaining to address the Year 2000 problem, as well as the fact
 that we have passed into a new phase in the compliance measures required.
 The revised checklist starts from the premise that the stage of increasing
 awareness of the Year 2000 problem among top management, staff and other
 individuals at financial institutions, and of the formulation of the Year
 2000 compliance program should already be completed and shifts emphasis to
 the implementation of the program, especially renovation and subsequent
 testing of systems, and preparing contingency plans.

	Since future inspections will use this checklist to address progress
 in the steps of the Year 2000 compliance program, we have published the 
checklist for each financial institution to use in verifying the situation in
 their own organizations and thereby contribute to further efforts to resolve
 the Year 2000 problem.

                                  For Inquiries Please Contact the Following:

                         Financial Supervisory Agency, Inspection Department:

                                                                   K. Sasaki

                                                           Tel: 03-3506-6000



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