Privatisation of Japan's postal service could be delayed two years by the technical difficulties of developing a new computer system needed to split the business into four units.

Masaharu Ikuta, president of Japan Post, said in an interview with the Financial Times that tenders for a new system - needed to split the giant organisation into mail-delivery, savings, insurance and counter services - could not go out until late 2005, meaning work would not start until 2006.