Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said on Friday he wants an emergency adjustment in mark-to-market accounting rules to avoid systemic risks emerging in the financial system. He said he had asked a body that sets accounting rules for Japanese companies to make a decision quickly on such a change.
'This has been discussed by the United States and Europe amid an emergency situation at previous G7 meetings,' he said. Japan is looking at easing accounting rules that require companies to assess financial holdings at market value, joining other global authorities in a bid to contain the fallout from the credit crisis.
The Accounting Standards Board of Japan said on Thursday it would closely watch changes in global accounting standards and would review Japan rules accordingly. Under mark-to-market or fair-value rules, companies are obliged to regularly adjust the valuation of assets they hold to reflect changes in their actual price on the market.
Yuzo Saeki at Forbes
