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Monday, Jul 19, 2004,Page 12
Japan Post, which holds a quarter of the nation's savings, will have to compete with banks, insurers and other deposit-takers starting in 2007, said Heizo Takenaka, minister for economy and fiscal policy.
"We'll be privatizing Japan Post in 2007," Takenaka said on state-run NHK television.
"Privatizing means that it has to compete completely on its own with the private sector," Takenaka said.
Japan Post, which doesn't pay any taxes, will have to compete like any other bank or insurer in the country for the benefit of the public, Takenaka said, without giving details. The state-run service, which combines mail delivery with selling insurance and government-guaranteed savings, may have to break up, said Japan's guild of corporate executives.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/07/19/2003179613