The government has formally decided to give up a controversial proposal to remove a 12-year ban on Cabinet ministers engaging in stock transactions, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
The top government spokesman informed Cabinet members earlier in the day that the ban will remain intact.
"I said that it is because stock transactions by politicians should be conducted in a manner that leaves no room to invite public speculation, and Cabinet ministers, who hold great authority, should refrain from doing so, as has been the case," Fukuda said at a news conference.
The government was considering scrapping the ban after some ministers reckoned it gives the impression that stocks are risky and should be avoided, undermining the government's efforts to lure investors into the market.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi suggested in late November that lifting the ban should be considered. But that plan drew fire from the opposition camp and from within the ranks of the Liberal Democratic Party, which he heads.
Cabinet ministers and senior vice ministers are effectively banned while in office from transactions involving securities, real estate and golf club memberships to ensure that they do not abuse their influence by engaging in illicit trading.