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Insurance Union Issues Petition Against Japan Gov't Postal Reform - March 8, 2010
[Kyodo.]A federation of labor unions of Japanese life insurance companies called on the government Monday to make sure its review on the nation's postal privatization process does not allow the insurance business of state-owned Japan Post Holdings Co. to become too big.

The National Federation of Life Insurance Worker's Unions issued a petition against the postal reform bill the government has been working on as the state is planning to raise the 13 million yen upper limit on postal insurance payments through legal changes.

"It is sure to deal a heavy blow to the private sector," says the petition, which has 864,260 signatures, mainly from employees of life insurance companies.

With the petition, the federation plans to request a meeting with Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei, who is also in charge of the nation's postal reforms.

Japan's postal privatization, the symbol of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reforms, was put on hold after the Democratic Party of Japan-led government took power last September.

The current government has been working to include the increase in the upper limit on postal insurance payments into the postal reform bill.

Meanwhile, private insurance companies have been opposed to the ceiling increase, saying the move may cause a flight of money to Japan Post Insurance Co. on the back of its implicit state guarantee and impede fair competition against private companies.