The government is trying to make it easier for you to buy its bonds and finance its deficits.

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday that he has directed the ministry to look for neighborhood venues, such as convenience stores, that could sell Japanese government bonds to individuals.

"I told them to think about how people can buy the bonds easily and in a familiar setting, like when they run errands in the neighborhood. So I said, 'how about selling them at convenience stores?' " Shiokawa told a regular news conference.

The ministry started selling the first batch of the specially designed government bonds earlier this year as part of efforts to diversify the government's borrowing avenues.

Currently, only financial institutions, including banks, brokerages and post offices, are allowed to sell the bonds.

Shiokawa's remarks indicate the government is under pressure to find more buyers so the ballooning budget deficit can be financed.

In recent years, the budget has faced almost constant tax revenue shortfalls. In the fiscal 2003 budget, new government bond issues will come to 36.45 trillion yen, a record high for an initial budget.

The Financial Service Agency plans to submit to the current Diet session an amendment to the securities and exchange law. The revision will enable convenience stores and other venues to be commissioned by brokerages to engage in equity and government bond transactions.

Coupon rates on the government bonds developed for individual investors will be reset twice a year, based on auction results of regular 10-year government bonds.

The bonds will also carry a floor coupon rate of 0.05 percent to guarantee interest income for investors even if market interest rates plunge sharply.