Press Conference by Kaoru Yosano, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy and Financial Services

(Excerpt)

March 14, 2006

Q.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has delisted Livedoor following yesterday's filing of a criminal complaint against former executives of Livedoor including Takafumi Horie, the former President, by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. While the impact on investors is likely to be huge, please outline your views on the lessons this incident had for the market as well as the challenges it presents for the market's future administration.

A.

The actions of the accused in the Livedoor incident are typical examples of Securities and Exchange Law violations. Spreading rumors, carrying out fraudulent accounting and, as is in this case, doctoring financial statements are all typical breaches of the Securities and Exchange Law that have occurred in the past. I, therefore, do not believe that the actions of the accused constitute a new type of crime.

In any case, we have asked the courts to try the case, and we will receive a verdict at some point in the future.

I believe the Livedoor incident has been taken as a social warning to listed companies that issue stock, as well as securities companies, the Tokyo Stock Exchange, auditing companies and general investors that trading must take place according to the rules.

Q.

What is your view on the series of misstatements discovered in the descriptions of installment plan insurance products made by insurance companies such as Aioi Insurance and Sompo Japan Insurance?

A.

These misstatements were probably not intentionally made. Instead, they probably resulted from a series of unfortunate events, such as mistakes made in writing the policy clauses or explaining the products, as well as lack of understanding on the part of the sales people.

Nevertheless, I believe that the insurance companies concerned must be prepared to take adequate measures to compensate policy holders for the trouble caused.

Q.

What is your view on the controversial call made by the umpire in the Japan-America baseball match?

A.

Since I did not witness the scene, I side with the umpire. In any sport, it is normal for discrepancies to occur in calls made on the field and calls made in subsequent video commentary. I think it is unfortunate for umpires when a call made on the field is later judged wrong when the video is watched. After all is said and done, making calls based on watching the play is how we umpire sport. Major tournaments such as Wimbledon sometimes use technology such as infrared rays to determine whether a ball was over the line or not, but in those cases the decision to employ the technology has been decided in advance. In baseball, I think the subjective verdict of the umpire about whether a player's tag-up was too early or not should be considered final.

(End)