Review the Postal Service's Four-Way Split

Prime Minister Taro Aso expressed skepticism about the four-way split of the postal services during a lower house budget committee meeting on February 5. This set off a large chorus of criticism from the LDP's structural reform faction, members of the opposition and the mass media. But the chorus itself, while rattling the premier, lacks focus. The structural reformists, the Democratic Party of Japan and the mass media are engaging in extreme folly. I protest their vague stance.

Of all the structural reforms pushed by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and cabinet member Heizo Takenaka, splitting the postal services into four separate entities was the worst. Just go see for yourself on your next visit to the post office. You'll quickly see what a stupid idea it was. If the postal service continues under this divided management, it will crumble.

Premier Aso is correct in his stance. He has taken a lot of heat because of his lack of popularity, but his statement that the postal privatization should be reviewed is just common sense. The Diet should react positively to this remark and return the postal service to its more effective structure.

"It is never too late to correct a mistake." — Confucius