Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said Tuesday that the ministry was prepared to begin discussions with the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry on the more flexible use of postal savings to purchase stocks.

Matsunaga said the ministry would "swiftly respond" to any calls for talks on the issue of revising existing laws regarding the utilization of postal deposits and postal life insurance funds into the stock market.

"The idea seems to be under deliberation at the working level" between the two ministries, according to Matsunaga. The finance chief stressed that the effort should not be regarded as a move on the part of the government to manipulate stock prices, saying he believes that the postal ministry is committed to safe and certain management of the funds.

The Postal Ministry is currently looking into the possibility of revising current legislation so that the ministry itself, rather than the ministry-affiliated Post Office Life Insurance Welfare Corp., could directly commission trust banks to manage postal savings and insurance funds.

The need to consider ways to bolster stock prices ahead of March 31, when many firms close their books on the business year, has been voiced by many officials from within the Liberal Democratic Party.

The ruling party is expected to call for the infusion of roughly 1 trillion yen in postal savings and postal insurance funds into the market through trust funds by the end of the month to help prop up stock prices and increase the value of shareholdings.