Press Conference by Shizuka Kamei, Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Tuesday, January 19, 2010, from 10:47 a.m. to 11:09 a.m.)

Q.

I understand that in preparation for the full enforcement of the amended Money Lending Act, you are conducting the review process. Could you tell us about the progress of the review? When the project team (the project team on the money lending system) was established, you made comments to the effect that you would not go so far as to re-amend the law and that you would not postpone the full enforcement of the law. Have you changed your mind regarding these points?

A.

The project team is now considering whether there are any matters that should be taken into account with regard to the enforcement of this law, but I have not yet received a (detailed) progress report.

In any case, it is objectively true that there is demand for credit. All political parties (nevertheless) worked together in the belief that the framework under this amended law was necessary, and for the moment, my view is that the situation is not such that this framework itself will need to be altered.

What is important is that government-affiliated financial institutions and private financial institutions will make more efforts to meet the demand for credit. In particular, I believe that government-affiliated financial institutions should make such efforts. How Japan Post Bank's financial operations can be used to meet small-lot and /or emergency needs for credit is one of the matters under consideration.

(End)