The Japanese government has appointed an experienced banker, Yoshifumi Nishikawa, to manage theprivatisation of Japan Post. The giant financial and postal group will be restructured into four
companies in October 2007 and gradually privatised over a ten year period.Nishikawa, formerly president of the third-largest Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui before retiringthis summer, will become president of a new organisation charged with planning the postalprivatisation in January. The 67-year-old will then take up the post of president of the new JapanPost holding company in October 2007.
Nishikawa was quoted as saying that the privatisation of Japan Post was the country’s mostimportant reform since the wide-ranging modernisation of Japan carried out during the Meiji periodin the late 19th century.
