January 20, 2003
Bank of Japan

On January 20, 2003, the Bank of Japan was designated as the Transfer Institution of Japanese government bonds and bills (JGBs) under the Law Concerning Book-Entry Transfer of Corporate and Other Debt Securities (Law No. 75 of 2001, hereafter the "Transfer of Corporate Debt Securities Law") and was authorized under the Bank of Japan Law (Law No. 89 of 1997) to conduct business concerning the book-entry transfer of JGBs based on the Transfer of Corporate Debt Securities Law by the competent ministers.

The Bank of Japan hereby announces that on January 27, 2003, as scheduled, it will abolish the current JGB Book-entry System and start operating a new JGB Book-entry System based on the Transfer of Corporate Debt Securities Law.