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Currently, the review of privatization and the corporate break up of Japan Post has been conducted by the government. This is due to the election results of the Lower House. In the election, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) carried out their election campaign advocating “a drastic review of the progress of postal privatization”, and won a landslide victory last August. Voters rejected neo-liberalism actions conducted under the Liberal Democratic Party who were the ruling party of that time.



Many problems have surfaced since the start of privatization and the break up of Japan Post. Customers were not pleased with the ongoing postal reforms. For example: the imbalance of business results among Japan Post Group companies, lowering of customer service standards caused by the corporate break up and shrinking the post office network, and others.



The new DPJ government has set up the basic guidelines for postal reform. It includes the following points: to halt the planned share listing of Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank, and Japan Post Insurance; to redesign the current structure of Japan Post Group (four operational companies under the holding company); to legally define financial services provided by two postal financial units as basic financial universal service; and to utilize post offices as bases for the daily lives of locals.



In view of this approach, the law for the planned sales of shares of postal group companies was halted in the Diet on December 4, 2009. Talks for a new detailed bill of postal reforms have been conducted since then.



Due to the union’s partnership with DPJ, JPGU shares the basic direction of postal reform with DPJ. At the same time, JPGU releases its postal reform concepts consisting of three priorities. These are “improvement of customer services,” “development of postal services,” and “ensuring sustainable employment and working conditions.” These priorities are written on the basis of five reform revisions: “convenience,” “public natures,” “integration,” “employment security,” and “the benefit of society.”



Prior to the writing of the “postal reform bills,” JPGU submitted “its own demands toward postal reforms” including a set of nine items. When the postal reform promotion office carried out a “public hearing concerning the postal reform” on December 11, 2009, JPGU requested that these proposals be reflected in the bill.



The set of nine items involve “the elimination of the harmful influence of working conditions and employment accompanied with postal review,” “business diversification,” “ensuring business freedom,” “tightening control of private mail law,” “development of `one stop administrative service`.” Furthermore, it seeks to place the two postal financial units under a new company wjhich would be creating by merging with three existing companies such as Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Service, and Japan Post Network.



The postal reform bills will be submitted in March. Then after debate in the parliamentary, the bills will be passed into laws.