Press Conference by Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of State for Financial Services
(Excerpt)
(Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 8:38 am to 8:43 am)
[Questions and answers:]
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Q.
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Today is the reporting deadline given in the order for business improvement issued to the quasi-virtual currency broker dealer Coincheck, and the company has taken steps to suspend withdrawals ever since the incident. Could you please tell us your thoughts on future approaches to customer protection?
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A.
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It is important that Coincheck protect those customers who have suffered losses and prevent any further losses, and Coincheck has announced that it is still considering reimbursing customers. The Financial Services Agency continues to gain an adequate understanding of Coincheck’s customer protection measures through our on-site inspections, and to have Coincheck undertake further efforts to ensure customer protection in future as well.
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Q.
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Today, February 13, is NISA (Nippon [Japan] Individual Savings Accounts) Day, and “Dollar-Cost Averaging NISA” was launched this year. Could you let us know how you see the current situation in terms of the number of people who have signed up and any issues that have emerged?
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A.
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“Dollar-Cost Averaging NISA” started in this January and, with the idea of helping people find a start of their investments in a familiar setting, the Financial Services Agency itself introduced a “Workplace Dollar-Cost Averaging NISA” that I believe first became available last December. We have been promoting this at other ministries and agencies, local governments and private companies and, to effectively appeal to the smartphone generation as well, we will be seeking to utilize new channels for disseminating information and not focusing exclusively on existing media. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the introduction of the “Dollar-Cost Averaging NISA,” we are looking to further accelerate the move from savings to investment or asset building. For one reason or another, savings and deposits have heretofore made up more than 50% of personal financial assets in Japan. We are hoping to encourage people to adopt this approach to building asset, and to turn their attention from savings to investment, from savings to asset building.
