The Japanese financial system: Restructuring for the future

"I was asked to talk today about the recent Japanese financial situation. As everyone is aware, the cracks in Japan’s current financial stability have emerged from the market perception that Japanese banks have been dangerously weakened by a huge amount of bad loans. There is also the perception that neither the Japanese government nor the banks’ managers are taking adequate measures to improve the situation, particularly against the background of Japan’s deteriorating macroeconomic condition.