Crisis and Change in the Japanese Financial System Book

Specialists in various aspects of the Japanese financial industry describe, analyze, and evaluate the crisis that began with bursting real east bubbles in the early 1990s and resulting non-performing loans, delay by regulatory authorities and the banks themselves, a decompressive deregulation in 1996, major reforms in 1998 and early 1999 that made $500 billion of government funds available, and the resulting lack of regulatory control. In the context of the transition from a bank-centered and relationship-based system to market-based and competitive, they investigate why the banks got into such serious trouble, why the Ministry of Finance lost its immense power, how financial regulation will further change the industry and the huge government financial institutions and postal savings, and what some broader implications are of the transitions. Most of the 12 studies are revised from presentations at an October 1998 conference in New York. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR