Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

January 6 , 2004

Yesterday, I attended the first session of the year at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and declared my commitment to making utmost efforts in stimulating individual investment, by establishing a financial system with marketing functions at its core, under the slogan ''from saving towards investment''.

In association with this, in the afternoon of Saturday, January 31, the Financial Services Agency will host the first symposium on financial and economic education at Tsuda Hall, Sendagaya. The symposium will be held based on the view that financial and economic education, aimed at helping young people of the next generation gain a deeper understanding of the financial sector and the underlying economy, is of most important in the process of shifting ''from savings towards investment''. Accordingly, we hope to make the symposium unique in content, by asking students, education staffs and NPO staffs to play a central role, in contrast with conventional events held by securities companies and other businesses.

I will participate in the symposium as well, in the keynote address and the subsequent panel discussions.