Heads of Japan Post group resign over improper insurance sales

Dec 28, 2019 | News On Japan

Dec 28, 2019 (Japan Today) - The heads of Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd and two affiliates said on Friday they will resign over the improper sales of insurance policies, after the regulator announced administrative punishments against the companies.

Japan Post Holdings said it had picked Hiroya Masuda, a former minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, as successor to current CEO Masatsugu Nagato.

Japan Post Insurance Co Ltd President Mitsuhiko Uehira will be replaced by Tetsuya Senda, deputy president of the company, while Japan Post President Kunio Yokoyama will be taken over by Kazuhide Kinugawa, senior managing executive officer of Japan Post Holdings.

The changes will take effect on Jan 6, the companies said.

â€œI accepted this job because I thought I could contribute to the country but I eventually caused troubles. I feel deep sorrow,â€ Nagato said at a press conference, adding that he had considered resigning from August.

Japanâ€™s financial regulator earlier in the day ordered Japan Post Insurance and Japan Post to halt sales of insurance products for three months from Jan 1 through end-March, after they were found to have improperly sold thousands of policies.

The postal service group said this month the number of improper sales cases had reached 12,836, of which 670 involved violations of the law or internal rules.

The two units have set sales goals that lack â€œfeasibility and rationalityâ€, the regulator said in a statement, adding there was dysfunction of corporate governance at the group.

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