Press Conference by Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of State for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Tuesday, May 30, 2017, 9:07 am to 9:10 am)

[Questions and answers:]

Q.

I would like to ask about the Shoko Chukin Bank and last week’s on-site inspection led by the Financial Services Agency. Could you please tell us what progress has been made in this inspection, and what comments you have regarding a government-affiliated financial institution issuing illegal loans?

A.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, and the Financial Services Agency are the competent authorities with respect to the Shoko Chukin Bank, and since the 24th of May we have been jointly engaged in an on-site inspection that is still underway. That such extremely unusual misconduct has taken place is quite regrettable, and there are a number of aspects that we hope to fully verify in this inspection, such as the fundamental causes for this misconduct and any inadequacies in the Shoko Chukin Bank’s legal compliance, business management, and internal control systems. It may be the case that no single specific factor is to blame. We will need to examine this matter as a problem concerning the Bank’s operations as a whole, as the lack of understanding about original intent is an even bigger issue.