Tag: Japan

Japan Post Corp. submitted to the government on Monday [31 July] outlines of its 10-year postal privatization road map that includes plans to have its postal savings bank provide loans to individuals and its postal life insurance firm offer health and casualty insurance policies.

The postal savings bank will have 232 outlets while the postal insurance company will operate 81 outlets, and both will offer their services also at the postal group’s network of 24,000 post offices across the nation, the outlines show.

Japan Post plans service expansion after privatization

A new bank and insurance company, to be created through Japan’s postal privatization next year, will try to expand their operations to match those of their private-sector rivals, informed sources said Friday.

According to the outlines of their business plans, Yucho (postal savings) Bank and Kampo Life Insurance will eliminate or raise the 10 million yen ceiling per depositor and policyholder currently set for money to be put into postal savings and postal life insurance, the sources said.

The bank will also seek to extend loans to individuals in addition to small and midsize enterprises, and the insurance firm plans to start offering medical insurance products, the sources said.

Yucho’s and Kampo’s assets will total around 226 trillion yen and 114 trillion yen, respectively, surpassing those of the two leading companies in the industries — Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Nippon Life Insurance Co., the sources said.

Japan Post is talking with East Japan Railway Co. about a plan to issue a cash card with the electronic money and prepaid train ticket functions of JR East’s Suica smart card, it was learned Thursday.

Japan Post, which operates the Yucho savings service, and the major railroad are considering launching the new card as early as next spring, sources said.