Japan approves postal reform bills
Japan’s parliamentary upper house approved a proposal to privatise the country’s postal service today, delivering a crucial victory for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s reform plans.
The package was passed 134 to 100 by the upper house after it was passed overwhelmingly by the powerful lower house on Tuesday.
The bills would split up and sell off Japan Post’s delivery, savings deposit and insurance services by 2017, creating the world’s largest private bank.
