WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/N/179
6 November 2001
(01-5536)
Council for Trade in Services Original:  English
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE III:3 OF THE
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES
The following notification has been received from the delegation of Japan.
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1. Member notifying:
Japan
2. Notification under:
Article III, paragraph 3 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
3. Date of entry into force:
(A) Ministerial Ordinance No. 91 in 1997 entered into force on 25 December 1997
(B) Cabinet Ordinance No. 81 in 1998 entered into force on 27 March 1998
(C) Cabinet Ordinance No. 321 in 1998 entered into force on 1 April 1999
(D) Law No. 19 in 2000 entered into force on 1 April 2001.
Duration:
Indefinite
4. Agency responsible for implementati on and enforcement of the measure:
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
5. Description of the measures:
(A) Ministerial Ordinance No. 91 in 1997
With respect to the management of the assets of Employees' Pension Funds
(hereinafter referred to as "Funds"), the asset allocation regulation which is applied to
the total assets of Funds (so-called 5:3:3:2 rule) was eliminated.
(B) Cabinet Ordinance No. 81 in 1998
(a) With respect to the assets of Funds qualified by appropriate authorities to be 
managed by discretionary investment management service suppliers, the
three-year qualification requirement with respect to the required duration of
the Funds following their establishment was eliminated.S/C/N/179
Page 2
(b) With respect to the Funds of which duration following their establishment is
three years or longer, the ceiling of ½ of total assets with respect to the assets
of Funds which can be managed by discretionary investment management
service suppliers was eliminated.
(C) Cabinet Ordinance No. 321 in 1998
With respect to the Funds of which duration following their establishment is less than
three years, the ceiling of ½ of total assets with respect to the assets of Funds which
can be managed by discretionary investment management service suppliers was
eliminated.
(D) Law No. 19 in 2000
Pension Welfare Service Public Corporation was disestablished.  Government
Pension Investment Fund was allowed to manage the pension fund by itself.  Withrespect to the management of the pension fund of Government Pension Investment
Fund, no asset allocation regulation were applied to the total assets of Government
Pension Investment Fund, and investment advisory companies were allowed to
participate in the management of the pension fund of Government Pension Investment
Fund.
Affected commitments
"Additional Commitments on sector 7B:  Banking and Other Financial Services
(excluding Insurance and Insurance-Related Services)
1. With respect to the assets of Employees' Pension Funds (hereinafter referred
to as "Funds") qualified by appropriate authorities to be managed by discretionaryinvestment management service suppliers, the eight-year qualification requirement
with respect to the required duration of the Funds following their establishment is
reduced to three years.
2. There is a ceiling of ½ of total assets with respect to the assets of Funds
which can be managed by discretionary investment management service suppliers.The ceiling will be eliminated by March 1999.
3. No asset allocation guidelines are applied to individual pension fund
management service suppliers with respect to the management of fund assets of the
Pension Welfare Service Public Corporation (excluding the commingled fund
management of insurance companies) or of the assets of Funds (excluding the
commingled fund management of insurance companies) which can be managed by
discretionary investment service suppliers.
5. Appropriate authorities permit the Pension Welfare Service Public
Corporation to allow investment advisory companies to participate in the management
of its fund assets through a variation on the "Shiteitan" framework.  At the time of the
comprehensive review of the Japanese pension system in 1999, this scheme was
reviewed."
6. Members specifically affected, if any:
NoneS/C/N/179
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7. The texts are available from:
General Affairs Division, Pension Bureau
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Telephone: (81 3) 5253 1111  extension 3316
Fax: (81 3) 3504 1240
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