Finance Ministry officials punished for receiving excessive entertainment will not work at the new Financial Supervision Agency, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said Tuesday.
The FSA, which will take over the ministry's inspection and supervision of financial institutions, is expected to be set up in mid-June. Although the finance minister does not have authority over personnel decisions in the agency, he said the ministry will help the agency choose the right staff. "Generally, it would be inappropriate for those punished under the National Civil Service Law to assume important posts at the FSA," Matsunaga told a regular news conference. The names of those less severely punished should also be excluded, he indicated.
The ministry last month penalized 112 officials for being excessively wined and dined by financial institutions. Of those, 32 were punished under the National Civil Service Law and the rest under ministry rules. Media reports have said the government plans to appoint Masaharu Hino, head of the Nagoya High Public Prosecutor's Office, as chief of the new agency.