The Finance Ministry will begin issuing reconstruction bonds for individual investors on Dec. 5 that can be purchased over the counter or on websites of banks and securities companies.
The Finance Ministry will begin issuing reconstruction bonds for individual investors on Dec. 5 that can be purchased over the counter or on websites of banks and securities companies.
The minimum purchase requirement is 10,000 yen ($129).
All purchasers will receive a letter of appreciation carrying a signature by Finance Minister Jun Azumi. All the money raised will be used to finance reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The ministry plans to use the individual investor bonds to finance 1.5 trillion yen of the total 11.55 trillion yen in reconstruction government bonds included in the third supplementary budget for fiscal 2011.
The reconstruction bonds, including those for individual investors, will be placed under a separate bookkeeping system from other types of government bonds.
The annual pretax interest rates are 0.18 percent for three-year fixed-rate bonds, 0.33 percent for five-year fixed-rate bonds and 0.72 percent during the first term for 10-year floating-rate bonds.
The first round of issuance will be closed Dec. 30, but issuance will restart in January.
Azumi told reporters at a news conference on Dec. 2 that he will buy 1 million yen's worth of reconstruction bonds for individual investors. He urged other Cabinet members to follow his lead.