The government will urge banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. to lend more to small and midsize companies, financial services minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
The Financial Services Agency will send letters to the nation's so-called megabanks and to regional banks, asking them to be more flexible in their lending policies, Motegi said at a regular press conference Tuesday in Tokyo.
More restrictive lending has contributed to rising corporate bankruptcies. The regulator has conducted research on the issue and surveyed or met with 51 small and midsize companies and associations and 450 company managers, as well as regional banks, Motegi said.
"We've heard some voices say that megabanks are cool toward small firms when it comes to lending, while regional lenders have been working with them earnestly," Motegi said. "I will listen to such voices and take measures."