[Lion Heart -- Message from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi]
(Provisional Translation)

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Bill related to the privatization of the postal services is enacted

Junichiro Koizumi here.

Bill related to the privatization of the postal services is enacted

On October 14, the plenary session of the House of Councillors passed and enacted the bill related to the privatization of the postal services.

It was nothing short of a miracle in the world of politics.

Before I became prime minister, the various political parties in the Diet said that privatizing the postal services was a "ridiculous idea." I took on this challenge, firmly grounded in my belief that one day the privatization of the postal services would be viewed as a "sound idea" instead of a "ridiculous idea."

It was a journey over hills and down through valleys. I was flung to the pit of a vale at one point, but the support of the people was what successfully pulled me up again. I believe we were able to revive a once-defeated bill and work the miracle of enacting the bill, thanks to the people who lent their support to the Koizumi Cabinet's structural reforms. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you.

We will now begin taking the steps toward making privatization a reality. With the help of exceptional managers in the private sector, I would like for the postal businesses to provide not just the three postal services but a range of services that people need, and to make a profit through sweat and toil. I would like for the postal businesses to improve the people's convenience and operate as respectable companies that will pay taxes in accordance with their profit increases.

Last week I shared an episode about how I found mushrooms growing amidst the shrubbery in front of my official residence. After that, I received volumes of e-mails from you readers. According to the experts' investigation, in addition to the two types of mushrooms that were shown in the photos, there are six types, or eight types in total, that are growing in the garden of my official residence. The large mushroom in the photo was a poisonous variety, called the Amanita pantherina, but apparently the other types are harmless. I have come to enjoy the roughly 50-meter walk from my residence to my office every morning with all its little and unexpected surprises.

There is no end to reform. Diet members' pensions will also be abolished. I am convinced that the enactment of the bill related to the privatization of the postal services--which was the very "heart of the reforms"--will provide impetus for the reforms. I will continue to tackle the reforms head-on, without stopping, under the basic principles of "leave to the private sector what it can do" and "leave to the localities what they can do."