Brokerage houses in Japan are gearing up for the scheduled enforcement next spring of the revised Securities and Exchange Law that they hope will bring about a sharp increase in individual customers.

The revised law opens the way for corporations, including insurance companies, to broker securities.

For securities companies that have only 100 or so branch offices at most across the country, the law will make it possible to commission big life insurers that have more than 1,000 sales offices and extensive networks of agents throughout the country.