Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged government officials and ruling coalition lawmakers Friday to discuss ways to give the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission more teeth.
The market was shocked when the Tokyo Stock Exchange was forced to shut down Jan. 18 reportedly for fear of a system overload amid a selloff stampede centering over Livedoor Co. shares after the firm was suddenly raided by prosecutors probing alleged securities law violations.
Koizumi said making the securities watchdog independent of the Financial Services Agency was one option.