Oct. 1 marked the first anniversary of the privatization of the nation's postal service. In April 2003, the Postal Service Agency became Japan Post, a public corporation. Then, in January 2006, Japan Post created Japan Post Corp., a stock company.
On Oct. 1, 2007, Japan Post Corp. became Japan Post Holdings Co., consisting of four units: Japan Post Bank Co., Japan Post Insurance Co., Japan Post Service Co. (mail delivery firm) and Japan Post Network Co. (over-the-counter services). These four firms are not yet very stable, as they struggle to find ways to survive and grow. Given this situation, opposition lawmakers are calling for a review of privatization.
For the six-month period ended March 31, 2008, the Japan Post group earned a net profit of ¥277.2 billion, 29 percent above projections. But more than half the profits came from the banking arm, which profited to the tune of ¥152.1 billion, 17 percent above projections, through solid asset management.