The Kansai Economic Federation will study the establishment of a fund to help the reconstruction efforts of businesses hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region, a senior member said.
Keiichi Ando, 60, who heads a committee of the federation tasked with working out steps to aid the postdisaster recovery, said the business lobby will urge area firms to invest in the fund, which would generate dividends if the reconstruction efforts succeed.
Ando, a deputy president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., said the federation will begin hearing views of business representatives in the Tohoku and other affected regions by year's end over the nature of the fund.
The plan emerged after businesses with cash-flow problems in the disaster-struck region called for a mechanism to raise private funds within and outside of the affected areas, Ando said.
He said fundraising would be easier through an investment fund than by collecting donations, as investors could receive dividends.
Ando also underlined the need to enact a law to clearly designate the Kansai region as an area that can play a backup role for central government functions in Tokyo in the event of a major disaster in the capital.