The European Business Community in Japan on Wednesday criticized a plan by Japan's governing coalition to present a bill to the Diet, possibly during the current session, to ban the use and sale of prepaid mobile phones on grounds that they are often used in crimes.
Launching an annual report on the Japanese business environment for 2004, the EBC also touched on the privatization of Japan's postal services and urged the government to establish a level playing field with private-sector competitors during and after the process.
The EBC, which represents more than 3,000 European companies and individuals in Japan, also asked the government to ensure that the same tax deferral rules on capital gains currently available for corporate reorganizations among Japanese companies are extended to cross-border stock-for-stock mergers.
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