Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

July 20 , 2004

Q.

The merger of UFJ and Tokyo-Mitsubishi was announced at the end of last week. Please tell us your expectations and evaluation of this merger.

A.

As I have commented several times before, this merger is a highly-advanced management decision in the private sector, and we are not in a position to pass judgment on it. However, all financial institutions have been consistently placed where they must strengthen their own financial base and raise their profitability in order to improve the functions they perform. In that sense, my hope is that each institution will make necessary decisions and efforts to improve their management. I believe this will lead to better management practices, and as a result, contribute to the development of a stronger financial system and economy in Japan.