IP: JAPAN LAGGING ON Y2K COMPLIANCE? from edupage

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Western banks are eyeing their Japanese counterparts warily in the wake of 
U.S. Senate committee report released yesterday that ranked Japan's level of 
Y2K preparedness at the third of four levels -- on a par with India, Kenya, 
Venezuela and Turkey. The U.S., Britain, Australia and Canada were ranked 
in the first tier, or most prepared. Meanwhile, Japan's Ministry for 
International Trade insists that most large industrial and financial 
companies are now Y2K-compliant, and says it is now testing most trading and 
settlement systems. The Financial Supervisory Agency, Japan's banking 
watchdog organization, has warned that it will suspend operations at 
financial institutions that are inadequately prepared for the new 
millennium, but the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan warns that the 
real problems may lie with financial institutions' closely related 
subsidiaries and clients. There is also considerable concern about the 
situation in non-financial sectors such as the utilities. "People are going 
to have to start cutting credit lines and reconsidering who they do business 
with," says the head of the Chamber's financial committee. 
(Financial Times 3 Mar 99)