The Ministry of Finance of Japan issued a business improvement administrative order to Fukuoka Stock Exchange and Sapporo Stock Exchange on Friday, questioning the operation of their market monitoring systems to prevent illegal trading and the quality of troubleshooting aids.

The government pointed out that Sapporo had not set monitoring criteria to detect and abort illegal trades and that Fukuoka has failed to include some trades in its watch list.

The two markets are to examine problematic operations, potential sources of trouble and submit improvement planning by Oct. 31.

The flaws could cause critical problems to investors and must not be left unsolved, Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission of Japan commented on its official website late Friday.

Japan