A government financial panel opened discussions Friday to allow foreign companies to release their financial results in English to promote overseas investment in Japan.

Panel sources said the Financial System Council, an advisory panel to the prime minister, is expected to draw a conclusion in May on a revision of the current system during fiscal 2004.

By allowing foreign companies to release their earnings reports in English, the panel hopes to attract more foreign firms to the Japanese market, giving domestic investors greater opportunity to invest in such companies.

Foreign companies currently need to translate documents such as financial statements into Japanese if they want to issue stocks or bonds in Japan.

The system prompts Asian and other foreign companies to list their shares in European and U.S. markets, bypassing the Japanese market due to the costs involved with maintaining a listing of their shares in Japan.

The panel will discuss measures to protect investors as well as ranges and styles of documents that will be allowed to be disclosed in English, the sources said.