the resources of Japan Post between the successor companies. Japan Post Holdings was to start as a state-owned holding company for Japan Post Bank, Japan Post Insurance, Japan Post Network, and Japan Post Service and gradually sell off its shares through 2017. The original plan was for the government to retain about a one-third ownership share of Japan Post Holdings, and for Japan Post Holdings to sell all its shares in its banking and insurance subsidiaries. Proceeds from the sale were to be used to reduce government debt. Implementation of privatization and current status The plan for privatization did not proceed smoothly, and after having been subject to a variety of external factors it continues today. In 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan took power and halted the IPO for Japan Post companies. In 2012, the administration went further in blunting some aspects of privatization, allowing the government to maintain indefinite control over Japan Post Holdings by stipulating a minimum of one-third shares to be owned by the government and removing targets for shares sold of the banking and insurance services. In late 2012, incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reemphasized progress towards privatization as part of his Abenomics plan for economic reform and growth. It was also hoped that the sale of shares could raise funds for rebuilding after the Great East Japan Earthquake. One result was the expediting of the IPO process for Japan Post companies. In 2015, a triple IPO was conducted where Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance each had about 10% of their shares offered for sale in the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the first time. Privatization is ongoing slowly, having already fallen short of the original plan. At the end of 2019, the government had a 57% ownership stake in Japan Post Holdings, which still owns 90% of Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance. In April 2021, Japan Post Holdings agreed to sell part of its unprofitable Australian logistics company Toll Holdings for only 7.8 million Australian dollars. The offer was accepted despite the fact that Toll Holdings had lost 67.4 billion yen -- or roughly $624 million -- for the fiscal year which ended in March 2021. On October 6, 2021, the final stage of a difficult privatisation process which had begun in 2005 was completed after with the sale of a $9bn tranche of shares. This accounted for