II. The Aim of the Financial System Reform - Contributing to the Vitalization of Japan's Economy
(1) Constructing a prosperous and creative economy and society, with Japanese society continuing to rapidly age as it heads toward the twenty-first century, makes the reform of our economic structure an urgent task. Thus, it is necessary that the financial sector, as the fundamental infrastructure of the economy, fully carry out its basic functions, i.e. financial intermediation and money settlement. Vitalizing these functions so they may contribute to the further development of our national economy through this financial system reform is required.
To achieve the optimum distribution of resources, funds should
be supplied to growth industries for the next generation, and
to foreign countries. At the same time, personal financial assets
in Japan, amounting to \1,200 trillion (about $11,000 billion),
should be fully utilized. Safe and efficient settlement services
are also necessary for the stability of the credit system.
(2) Additionally, this reform will enrich the function of finance,
through vitalizing the market and strengthening each financial
institution's competitiveness. This is expected to contribute
to the development of the Japanese financial industry's soundness
and to heighten the importance of the yen as an international
currency.