Koizumi flexible on possible change in postal bills

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday showed a flexible stance on possible amendments to a set of bills for postal services deregulation.

I don’t mind about technical details as long as the private-sector entry will not be barred, Koizumi told reporters after a meeting with Taro Aso, chairman of the Policy Research Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Aso also told reporters, The gap is gradually being bridged. But we still have to talk about details. The meeting was also attended by Toranosuke Katayama, public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications minister.

A set of four postal services deregulation bills are now before the Diet.

The bills include one that would allow private firms to begin offering mail services under certain conditions and one to establish a new public corporation in 2003 to take over the three state-run postal services — mail, postal savings and kampo life insurance.

Koizumi has repeatedly said he is determined to seek the Diet passage of the bills by the July 31 end of the current Diet session as he brands the bills a milestone for privatization of the postal services.

The issue of postal services deregulation is highly political as there are many lawmakers both in the ruling and opposition parties with vested interests in postal services.

Some LDP lawmakers have called for changes in the bill on allowing private firms in the mailing service, out of concerns that the proposed public corporation would face strong competition from private companies.

They say that the conditions for private firms to enter into the business should be stricter than those stipulated in the current bill, and that the definition should be clarified regarding what type of mail private companies can handle.

A clearer definition is likely being sought partly to bar private companies from handling direct mail, which accounts for roughly about 25% of mail services at present.

AP-NY-07-01-02 0917EDT

FDMSKYviaNewsEdge

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