Newly appointed Japan Post Holdings Co. President Taizo Nishimuro said Thursday he may move forward the company's public offering, currently eyed for autumn 2015, to speed up the privatization process.
"I don't intend to delay (the plan). If possible, I want to move it forward," Nishimuro, a former chairman of Toshiba Corp., said at a news conference. "Listing the stock would put us closer to the privatization goal. My task is to speed up that process and create an organization" supporting it.
After a Japan Post Holdings board meeting, the internal affairs minister appointed Nishimuro as president. He replaced Atsuo Saka. The board meeting followed a general shareholders' meeting attended by just one person, a Finance Ministry official, since the government owns Japan Post Holdings in its entirety.
The installation of a new president from the private sector is apparently aimed at accelerating procedures for listing Japan Post and reforming the lineup of its board, which reflects the influence of the previous government led by the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Post Chairman Takashi Nishioka also stepped down and the position will be left vacant.
Saka, a former Japan Post vice president, was promoted to his current post last December amid a political vacuum just after the Liberal Democratic Party won the general election to oust the DPJ from office. His appointment was criticized by the LDP-led administration.
