The head of the Fair Trade Commission, the nation's anti-cartel watchdog, on Wednesday defended a proposal by an FTC panel to allow private concerns to compete with the postal service in the letter-delivery business.

"Our views differ from those (of the posts ministry panel) concerning the issue of how universal services should be maintained," FTC Secretary General Akio Yamada told a news conference.

Yamada's comments come two days after a study group of the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry recommended that certain limits be maintained on the scope of postal services that private concerns are allowed to provide.