Mar.01.2009

Japanese Bankers Association

Study Group on the Financial System Releases Recommendations on the “Contemporary Role of Public Finance” (only in Japanese)

On March 2, the Second Subgroup (subgroup leader: Professor Toshihiro Ihori, Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo) of the Study Group on the Financial System (established by JBA and headed by Professor Keimei Kaizuka, Professor Emeritus at University of Tokyo and Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Finance) compiled recommendations regarding the expected role and responsibilities of public finance in the future.

The Study Group conducted research on the expected role and responsibilities of public finance in the future based on the validation of the results and issues of the public finance reform.

Based on the research, the recommendations focus on the role under normal circumstances of policy finance organizations and financial institutions currently being privatized. The recommendations also consider the role of these institutions during a financial crisis in analyzing how public finance can fulfill their supplementary role for the private sector. In particular, the recommendations analyze the management issues of the Japan Finance Corporation, which bears the responsibility of public finance, as well as the desirable functions of the Development Bank of Japan Inc. and Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd, which are undergoing the transition phase for privatization.