Japan Postal Privatization Revision Clears Diet

Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, on Friday enacted a bill to revise the postal privatization and related laws, paving the way for subsidies to preserve the nationwide post office network. The House of Councillors, the upper chamber, adopted the bill by a majority vote at a plenary meeting, following its passage through the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, on Tuesday. Under the new subsidy program, the government will provide about 65 billion yen annually from fiscal 2027, using funds including dividends from government-held shares in Japan Post Holdings Co. To strengthen the group’s financial base, the revision will oblige Japan Post Holdings to keep its equity stakes in Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance Co. above one-third for the foreseeable future. Before the revision, Japan Post Holdings was required to dispose of its stakes in the two financial units as early as possible. The legislation designates community-oriented services, including the handling of local government work, as part of the post offices’ core operations that need to be undertaken unless they pose problems with other operations. The legislation also calls on Japan Post Co., the mail and parcel delivery company wholly owned by the holding company, to improve its operational efficiency through digital technologies and make more effective use of business resources. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]