Press Conference by Shozaburo Jimi, Minister for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Friday, October 22, 2010, from 9:05 a.m. to 9:10 a.m.)

[Opening Remarks by Minister Jimi]

I have nothing in particular to report to you today.

[Questions & Answers]

Q.

Insider trading and the stimulation of the corporate bonds market have been raised as topics to be considered by the Government Revitalization Unit. What are your thoughts on this?

A.

I heard that such suggestions had been made by the Government Revitalization Unit yesterday. Having heard that deregulation is being addressed properly, and given that nothing but the topics to be considered by the Government Revitalization Unit have been released so far and all sorts of things have been written by the press about the content, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) will execute regulatory reform in an appropriate manner by confirming what it involves. Also, notwithstanding the fact that insider trading and the stimulation of the securities market are extremely tough challenges, we intend to create an environment in which everyone can make investments as freely as possible while observing the rules, as the financial sector is one of the areas of the growth strategy.

Q.

In the upcoming G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting, financial reform will be one of the principal agendas. Please share your views on this with us once again.

A.

As I have stated a number of times, the global financial sector has been extremely unstable since the Lehman Brothers collapse sent shockwaves around the world two years ago, as the recent financial crisis in Greece has shown. Financial institutions, especially banks, would certainly give us a better sense of security and be more robust if they have more capital. However, it was due to excessive capital that the financial crisis caused the credit crunch and credit withdrawal in Japan more than a decade ago. I have heard that in the process of pursuing global harmonization among countries, each of which has its own unique history and tradition as such, the circumstances in each country are taken into account in an all-embracing manner and a consensus is being formed on the rough outline especially towards the upcoming Seoul Summit, so I have great hopes for the Meeting.

Q.

We have heard that a panel of experts of the Tax Commission unanimously determined yesterday that the preferential taxation system for securities should be abolished as scheduled. What are your thoughts on this?

A.

I do not have accurate information on this, but whatever the case may be, I shall confirm this carefully, as the ''financial sector'' is part of the growth strategy.

Anyhow, the FSA will take appropriate action to stimulate the securities industry.

Q.

What do you think about the fact that such an opinion was expressed by the panel of experts?

A.

There have been arguments for and against the taxation system for securities since five to ten years ago, so such an opinion comes as no surprise.

Nevertheless, the FSA needs to create an environment to properly stimulate the securities market at a time when there are some downside risks to the global economy.  The FSA has submitted a draft on the taxation system for securities and intends to follow through on it.

(End)

Site Map

top of page