Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka and Bank of Japan Gov. Yasuo Matsushita issued a joint statement Wednesday calling on the public to remain calm and not be swayed by unfounded rumors over the recent spate of financial failures.
"The Finance Ministry and the BOJ are determined to provide liquidity in a sufficient and decisive manner in order to prevent any delay in payments of deposits or other liabilities of financial institutions," the statement said. "We strongly call on the public to not be misguided by groundless rumors and act calmly," the statement said.
Mitsuzuka repeated that financial authorities intend to take every step necessary to fully protect deposits and other financial assets and to stabilize interbank transactions. He added that he does not foresee any more financial failures at this time.