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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Postal privatization bills made into law

The postal privatization bills were enacted into law on October 14 after the House of Councilors plenary session approved them by a majority of the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties, with 134 for and 100 against.

The Japanese Communist, Democratic, Democratic Socialist parties and two new parties voted against.

The new laws will divide the present mail services, postal savings, and post-office life insurance businesses into four companies -- mail delivery, over-the-counter business, postal insurance, and postal savings -- under a holding company with 100 percent ownership by the government. The privatizing process will begin in October 2007, and the postal savings and post-office insurances will be completely privatized in October 2017.

Commenting on the enactment of the postal bills at a news conference later in the day, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stated as follows:

"It is unacceptable that the government used their force of majority to pass the bills without addressing the public concern that after privatization they will lose access to public banking services, will have to pay high fees to keep accounts open, and that the nationwide postal network may be torn apart.

Even through the three-day discussion in the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors, it became clear that the postal privatization bills are intended to discard the public banking services in order to meet the requests of private Japanese and U.S. financial circles.

The JCP's questioning in particular has revealed that the U.S. government intervened in this matter, calling for weekly meetings to be held with concerned parties from the Japanese and U.S. sides to expedite the process.

The JCP cannot condone the bills being enacted without the Diet probing into the extraordinary circumstances in which Japan's national sovereignty is threatened. The JCP protests against the government and the ruling parties for railroading through the bills.

The privatization of postal services will bring about a serious crisis in banking on the general public.

On the road to privatization, the financially weak will be precluded from banking services, with contradictions deepening between the market forces and the interests of the people. The JCP is determined to develop in cooperation with various regions a movement to defend the interests of the financially weak and the network of post offices.

In a larger perspective, the JCP envisages a plan for reconstructing public banking services, as in New Zealand and Germany. Access to banking is one of the fundamental rights of the people. The world has come closer to understanding that a public sector should play a part in defending small savings account users. The JCP will make efforts to reconstruct public banking in this direction." -- Akahata, October 15, 2005