Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday he is considering involving independent experts, including lawyers, in talks between banks and corporate borrowers over guidelines on waiving debts.
Yanagisawa told reporters that similar systems exist in the United States and Europe. "I'm thinking about that kind of system," he said.
Debt forgiveness is part of a government scheme to get the nation's banks to accelerate efforts to remove mountains of bad loans from their books.
The government is working on guidelines for the scheme, and a private study panel, which will include representatives from the Japanese Bankers Association, will soon be formed.
Yanagisawa also wants the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), the nation's most influential business lobby, to be involved in working out the guidelines.
The minister also said he met Monday with Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami, but stopped short of commenting on reports that Hayami intends to resign.