[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the ninth meeting of the Headquarters for the Promotion of Privatization of the Postal Services at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the meeting, there was a report on “the opinions of the Postal Privatization Committee related to the comprehensive investigation of the state of progress of postal privatization.” After that, the meeting approved the “report on the opinions of the Postal Privatization Committee related to the comprehensive investigation of the state of progress of postal privatization.”

The Prime Minister said in his address,
“Seven and a half years have passed since the privatization of the postal service. Over that time, although there have been phases when this process has halted, such as when the disposal of shares was put on hold, the Abe administration, under the new leadership of Mr. Nishimuro the acceleration of privatization is being pushed forward, including through the establishment of a mid-term management plan and preparations for the public listing of stock.

The scheme for public listing announced at the end of last year centers on the simultaneous listing of Japan Post Co., Ltd., along with its subsidiary companies Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd., and Japan Post Insurance Co., Ltd. This is expected to be an enormous stock listing that will draw interest from investors both in Japan and overseas. At the same time, it is an important initiative for the accumulation of funds for reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

In the opinions shared at this occurrence of the Postal Privatization Committee, along with the investigations into the state of progress of postal privatization, strong expectations were expressed regarding the contributions to regional vitalization made by the valuable network of 24,000 post offices across Japan alongside the smooth advance toward a public listing.
The Abe administration will continue to work for the success of the public listing and to ensure progress in postal privatization. I want the relevant ministers to continue their thorough work on this matter.”