The Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan is considering an order for Japan Post Insurance and Japan Post Co. to stop selling insurance products, following revelations of inappropriate practices within the firms.
According to a report by the Nikkei Asian Review, the regulator found many legal violations, including double charging of insurance premiums, within the Japan Post umbrella. The FSA said that it will hold the group accountable for over 10,000 violations of company regulations and Japanese law.
The suspension order will likely apply to areas related to the sale of dubious insurance policies. The group’s other services, such as mail delivery and banking, would not be affected. The full extent of the sanctions will be announced by the end of the year, the report said.
The FSA will also issue a business improvement order for Japan Post Holdings, the firm’s parent company, which will demand various changes to its business practices to avoid recurrence of violations. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is also looking to issue similar orders to Japan Post Holdings and Japan Post.
Meanwhile, the Japan Post group plans to announce the results of its internal investigation on December 18. According to the report, the probe unearthed more than 10,000 instances of policy sales that violated laws or internal rules. This number is much higher than the 6,327 cases indicated in the company’s interim report that was released in late September.
