Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� July, 2002

First Meeting of the Special Advisory Committee of the Special Public Institutions Reform Promotion Headquarters Monday, July 15, 2002 The first meeting of the Special Advisory Committee of the Special Public Institutions Reform Promotion Headquarters was held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in attendance. This committee was established with the aim of evaluating and monitoring the status of progress and providing appropriate follow-up in relation to the "Reorganization and Rationalization Plan for Special Public Institutions," decided by the Cabinet in December of last year. The nine knowledgeable members appointed as special advisors are Toshio Asakura, Corporate Officer and Chairman of Editorial Board of the Yomiuri Shimbun; Makoto Iida, Founder of Secom Co., Ltd.; Yuri Okina, Senior Researcher at the Japan Research Institute, Ltd.; Junko Obata, Professor at the Faculty of Law of Sophia University; Takao Kashitani, Director of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Takao Kusakari, President and Executive Officer of Nippon Yusen K.K; Toshiki Tomita, Executive Fellow at Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.; Muneo Funada, Chief Editor with Executive Status, News Bureau, Fuji Television Network, Inc., and Atsushi Miyawaki, Professor at the Graduate School of Law of Hokkaido University. Makoto Iida was chosen to serve as chairman. At the opening of the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi addressed the committee, stating, "Special public institutions reform is one important pillar of the Koizumi Cabinet's structural reform. The content of the Reorganization and Rationalization Plan goes into considerable detail, but it will be meaningless unless we are able to put it into effect. I would like you to conduct strict monitoring, as a watchdog, of special public institutions reform."