 JCP chair calls for thorough parliamentary discussion to discard postal privatization bill The Liberal Democratic and Komei parties in the House of Representatives plenary session on May 20 used their majority in a vote on setting up a special committee to discuss the postal privatization bill. The Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan absented themselves from the plenary session. The Japanese Communist Party in the plenary session and in the preceding steering committee opposed setting up a special committee. During the Lower House steering committee discussions on setting up a special panel, JCP representative Kokuta Keiji criticized the government for breaking a promise not to privatize the postal services. This promise was written in the 1998 basic law on reform of ministries and agencies by which the postal services were transferred to the Japan Post. After the plenary session, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo gave the following comments to the press: "Privatization will turn the postal savings and post-office life insurance service, which are popular for their mandatory universal services, into a typical banking institution or insurance company, and it will destroy the national network of post offices. Setting up a special committee will only facilitate an early legislation of the harmful bill. The JCP is completely opposed to it. Now that a special panel has come into being, the JCP is resolved to reveal the problems concerning the bill through a thorough discussion in the Diet. The ruling parties are responsible for the present situation because of their moves to bulldoze through the bad bill." - Akahata, May 21, 2005 |