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Kantei Conference: "Privatization of the Postal Services: Fundamental Reform from Public to Private" Monday, January 17, 2005 The "Kantei Conference: 'Privatization of the Postal Services: Fundamental Reform from Public to Private'" was held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. This conference was convened for the purpose of gathering the opinions of experts from both Japan and abroad, regarding the privatization of the postal services in April 2007. It also aimed to hold discussions among the members of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) and the Advisory Council on privatization of postal services. Approximately 40 people participated in the conference. In beginning the conference, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, "Privatization of the postal services does not only concern the three services of mailing, savings and insurance. It is an issue that involves the entire financial structure, distribution, administration and fiscal policy. Given the extreme difficultly of the issue that we are faced with here, we must further advance this reform under the leadership of Mr. Heizo Takenaka, the Minister of State for Privatization of the Postal Services, while gaining the understanding and cooperation of the people of Japan. The privatization of the postal services faces opposition from every political party and is indeed an extraordinary and unprecedented reform, but the Koizumi Cabinet will strive for a miracle. I intend to pass the bill on privatization of the postal services at this upcoming Diet session without yielding to resistance and opposition." Following the address by Prime Minister Koizumi, Mr. Hiroshi Okuda, the Chairman of the Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), who is also a member of the CEFP, and Mr. Klaus Zumwinkel, the President CEO of the Deutsche Post World Net, which is a model example of privatization, gave keynote speeches respectively. These speeches were followed by a discussion which lasted for six hours including the lunch break, where Minister Takenaka served as the moderator. The discussion was broadcasted live on the Internet.