Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka on Friday denied he violated Cabinet guidelines by meeting with the chiefs of U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., as reported by a magazine.
Takenaka denied the part of the report that said he had referred to possible nationalization of certain banks and that he had violated guidelines for Cabinet ministers prohibiting them from receiving entertainment from the industries under their supervision.
Takenaka, who doubles as economic and fiscal policy minister, said he met Henry Paulson, chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, and SMFG President Yoshifumi Nishikawa "for a short time," but declined to say when and where.