And, the size of the . postal savings system, even at its height in the 1930s and 1940s, never approached that of Japan. But even so, the motivations for establishing the . postal bank, and the purposes it actually served for several decades, were essentially similar to those in Japan. And, the arguments that led to abolition also resemble discussion now heard in Japan. This paper contends that a good deal can be learned from examining the role – for better and for worse – that the . postal bank played in the first half of this century. And, if something can be learned from this, most.