[Minister in His Own Words]

This section provides information regarding the hot topics of the moment, selected from questions and answers given at the Minister's press conferences, etc.

If you wish to find out more, we invite you to visit the “Press Conferences” section of the FSA website.

A1. It is not true that the government has started considering reducing the deposit insurance premium rate for the next fiscal year. Between around fiscal 1996 and fiscal 2009, deficits totaling 7.5 trillion yen probably arose in Deposit Insurance Corporation's general account. Those cumulative deficits arose because of the financial crisis, and I understand that policy reserves totaled 137.3 billion yen as of fiscal 2010.

I think that we need to consider future insurance premium rates not only in light of the current financial condition of Deposit Insurance Corporation but also from medium- and long-term perspectives, including Deposit insurance Corporation's long-term financial condition, the current and future stability of Japan's financial system, individual financial institutions' ability to bear the burden of premium payments, and the need to avoid imposing an excessive burden.

[Extract from the press conference following the Cabinet meeting on August 19, 2011]

A2. Since the earthquake occurred, I have repeatedly faced tough questioning at Budget Committee sessions as to how to deal with the double loan problem. The double loan problem refers to cases in which small and medium-size enterprises have lost new machines and factories as a result of the disaster. Regarding the Guidelines, the double loan problem refers to cases involving individuals, mainly those who have lost houses, although some individuals are business owners.

The application of the Guidelines of Workout for Restructuring Debt Owed by Individual Debtors started on August 22, as was pointed out. From the perspective of promoting support for the application of the Guidelines, the government will subsidize fees paid to lawyers who help disaster-stricken debtors use the service of the Management Committee of Individual Debtor Guidelines for Out-of-Court Workouts, a third-party committee. There are about 300 lawyers willing to cooperate with the management of the guideline. I hear that usually, such lawyer service costs 290,000 yen per lawyer. As this is a service related to post-disaster restoration work that serves public interests, I hear that the fee has been discounted to around 100,000 yen. Even so, lawyer fees are necessary, so the government will subsidize the payment of lawyer fees and fees paid to administrative staff and certified public accountants cooperating with the management of the guideline, and the government provides support to efforts to raise awareness about this guideline through public relations (PR) activities.

I hope that the Guidelines will facilitate smooth debt workouts and help disaster victims make a fresh start toward reconstruction.

[Extract from the press conference following the Cabinet meeting on August 23, 2011]

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[Press Releases in August]

August 2	Access		Administrative actions against Sun Flower Investment Co.
	Access		Agenda for the 2nd meeting of the Working Group on Insider Trading Regulations, Financial System Council
August 3	Access		Draft Cabinet Office Ordinance Partially Amending the Rules Terminology, Forms and Preparation of Financial Statements published
August 5	Access		Approval of business enhancement plans by North Pacific Bank, Fukuho Bank and Minami Nippon Bank
	Access		Progress report on the implementation of the business enhancement plan by Yamanashi Kenmin Shinkumi Bank and business enhancement guidance plan by Shinkumi Federation Bank (for year to March 2011)
	Access		Progress report on the implementation of business enhancement plans by Kiyo Financial Group Inc., Kiyo Bank and Howa Bank (for year to March 2011)
	Access		Progress report on the implementation of business enhancement plans by 10 regional banks (for year to March 2011)
	Access		Draft Cabinet Office Ordinance Partially Amending the Cabinet Office Ordinance on Disclosure of Corporate Information, etc. - Results of public comments, etc.
August 9	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for insider trading by the recipient of information from a Panasonic Electric Works Co. employee
	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for insider trading by a Panasonic Electric Works Co. employee
	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for failure to submit a report on changes concerning Morgan Stanley Investment Company
	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for failure to submit a large shareholdings report concerning Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co.
	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for failure to submit a large shareholdings report concerning Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited
August 12	Access		Administrative actions against ShinTokyo Securities Co.
August 19	Access		FSA publishes the status of loans held by all banks as of end-March 2011, based on the Financial Reconstruction Act
	Access		Use of Reserve Funds for Restoration and Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake in relation to Debt Restructuring for Individual Debtors
August 22	Access		Additions to Frequently Asked Questions on Clarification of Special Measures in the Financial Inspection Manual and Supervisory Guidelines in relation to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and How They Operate
August 24	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for falsification of financial statements, etc. concerning Tohken Co.
	Access		Decision on an order to pay an administrative monetary penalty for failure to report bond subscriptions concerning Toa Energy Co.
August 26	Access		Agenda for a joint meeting of the Business Accounting Council and the Planning and Coordination Committee
	Access		Publication of “Specific Use of Transferred Money in the DICJ” by the Project Team on Issues Surrounding Transferred Money in the DICJ Stipulated in the Criminal Accounts Damage Recovery Act
	Access		Results of Public Comments on the “Draft Cabinet Order for Partial Amendment of the Order for Enforcement of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act”
	Access		Supervisory Policy and Basic Policy for Financial Inspections in Program Year 2011
August 29	Access		Relevant draft Orders and Cabinet Office Ordinances for enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the of Deposit Insurance Act published
August 30	Access		Updated Administrative Action Cases
	Access		Relevant draft Orders and Cabinet Office Ordinances for the 2011 Financial Instruments and Exchange Act revisions (to be enforced within six months) published
August 31	Access		Partial revision of the FSA notice on the designation of credit rating corporations (designation of groups with regard to explanatory items for unregistered ratings)
	Access		Updated money lending industry information
	Access		Draft Cabinet Office Ordinance Partially Amending the Rules on Terminology, Forms and Preparation of Financial Statements) - Results of public comments, etc.
	Access	is a link to the publication web page.

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[Web Pages Most Accessed in August]

This section shows the most-accessed August Press Releases webpages.

To see the web pages most accessed in the past, go to the FSA web site's Web pages most accessed (past data, etc.) (Available in Japanese only)

• Financial institutions being inspected by the FSA
• List of licensed (registered) financial institutions (English)
• Financial Facilitation Measures for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
• Supervisory Policiy and Basic Policy for Financial Inspections in Program Year 2011
• Status of responses to the recent earthquake by the FSA, Local Finance Bureaus and Finance
• Draft Cabinet Office Ordinance Partially Amending the Rules on Terminology, Forms and Preparation of Financial Statements) published
• Great East Japan Earthquake - Related Information We are putting all efforts into financial countermeasures (English)
• Updated Administrative Action Cases
• Draft Cabinet Office Ordinance Partially Amending the Cabinet Office Ordinance, etc. on Financial Instruments Business Operators, etc. published
• “Considerations on the Application of IFRS” Statement by Shozaburo Jimi, Minister of State for Financial Services (June 21, 2011) (English)