Rough going awaits postal reforms

郵政改革関連4法案の行方

There is no assurance, however, that the bills will become law. Liberal Democratic Party legislators with ties to the postal services, as well as many opposition members, are dead set against privatization. They warn that unprofitable post offices in rural regions would be driven out of business.

Private firms, meanwhile, complain that access conditions are too severe. Yamato Transport Co., the leading parcel delivery firm, has lashed out at the mail deregulation bill, saying that it will not get into the market unless the measure is improved.

In submitting the two bills the government skipped the usual procedure of obtaining prior approval by the LDP's policy and executive boards. That served to demonstrate Mr. Koizumi's determination to press ahead with his privatization plans. Bracing for a showdown with antireform forces, he said, "This is going to be a battle in which either the LDP will destroy the Koizumi Cabinet or the Koizumi Cabinet will destroy the LDP."

As things look, however, the odds are against him. His public approval ratings have plunged since he fired his outspoken foreign minister, Mrs. Makiko Tanaka. He has lost another key ally, former LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato, who resigned last month over a tax scandal involving his former aide. Now, Taku Yamasaki, the party's current secretary general, is implicated in a sex scandal. These are followed by the LDP's losses in two out of three major elections on Sunday.

Mr. Koizumi has been crying for reform since taking office but he has delivered very little so far. An end to deflation is not yet in sight. Unemployment is stuck at a record 5-percent level. Banks' bad-debt woes are likely to continue. Indeed, Japan is considered the weak link of the industrialized economies.

Still, Mr. Koizumi can count on the postal reform bills to boost his political fortune. The goal is to establish a postal corporation, probably next April, and set the stage for private entry into the postal business. Failing that, his reformist image will be further tarnished and his political leadership will be severely weakened, possibly to the point where the very future of his administration is threatened.

There is a possibility of the postal package being used as a tool of political maneuvering. This is especially true of the mail deregulation bill, given the vital role that the mail service plays in our daily lives. Therefore, the bill should be debated in practical ways, without regard for political gain, so as to develop a more convenient mail system.

The big question here is how to secure "universal services" so residents throughout the country will be able to receive the same kinds of service at lower prices. Opponents of privatization maintain that residents in remote areas would be left out in the cold as private firms would invest only in profitable urban areas. On the other hand, parcel delivery firms say conditions for universal service, such as setting up a minimum number of posts, are so severe that access would be effectively prevented.

The post offices handle three types of service: mail, savings and life insurance. The mail service faces strong pressures for liberalization because of its continuing deficits. It is no longer economically acceptable to continue running a money-losing state enterprise. Hence the need to improve the quality of service through competition with private interests.

The planned postal corporation, which will bring together the three services under its control, should be regarded as a way station to their eventual privatization. Useful lessons can, and should, be learned from the privatization of the Japanese National Railways and the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp., which has resulted in reduced costs, better services and lower prices.

It is essential, however, that residents in remote places, such as mountain villages and isolated islands, are assured of continued services. To that end, the nationwide network of mail collection and delivery must be solidly maintained, as is the case with the supply of electricity and the telephone system.

Mail service in depopulated areas is extremely limited in volume, yet it takes much time and energy. So economic rationality militates against doing business in such places. One way to overcome this problem would be to run a joint service under a cost-sharing arrangement that includes local governments.

The Japan Times: April 30, 2002
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      民間宅配業者最大手のヤマト運輸は法案検討の結果、参入条件が改善されない限り郵便事業には参入しないと発表した。

      法案が自民党総務部会の事前了承を省く異例の形で提出されたことで、民営化にかける首相の意気込みがわかる。就任当時から改革を訴えてきた小泉首相だが、まだ具体的な成果は上がっていない。

      来年4月1日に国営の郵政公社を発足させ、郵便事業への民間参入を認めるこの改革に失敗すれば、改革者たる首相のイメージがさらに傷つき、求心力が弱まり、政権が脅かされるだろう。

      信書便法案については政治的利得抜きに、より便利な郵便制度の確立を目指し実利的な審議を行なわなくてはならない。 全国民に同等のサービスを低価格で提供することが課題だ。

      民営化反対派は、民間事業者が収益性の高い都市部のみに投資するため僻地の住民が冷遇されると言う。一方宅配業者は、全国参入の場合ポスト設置数などの条件が厳しすぎ、民間の参入が阻まれると主張する。

      赤字続きの国営郵便事業には自由化への強い圧力がかかる。民間との競争によりサービスの質を向上させる必要がある。新設予定の郵政公社には郵便、貯金、簡易保険の三事業を移管、本格的な民営化への通過地点とするが、コスト削減、サービス向上、低価格化を実現させた国鉄や電電公社の民営化の例に倣いたいものだ。

      山間部や離島など僻地の郵便集配は、量が少ない割に時間と労力がかかるため経営効率が悪い。

      この問題については、地方自治体も含めたコスト分配による共同事業運営が一つの解決策になるのではないだろうか。

The Japan Times Weekly
May 18, 2002
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