Financial corruption of the islands

Author: [Japan] Takasugi Yoshio, translated by Li Chongmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: In the early 1980s, Japan was at the peak of its rapid economic growth. Land prices soared, banks blindly lent money, and stock and real estate investments went wild, leading to a of social paper assets. In 1990, the Japanese government implemented financial tightening. Subsequently, land and stock prices plummeted, banks' bad debts surged, the bubble economy collapsed, and 200 trillion yen in assets vanished, pushing the Japanese economy into a long period of stagnation. From 1993 to 1997, Tokyo's major commercial banks, including Kyodo Bank, were deep in the aftermath of the bubble economy. On one hand, gangsters resisted, the government exerted pressure, and the recovery of bad debts was extremely difficult. On the other hand, the bank's top management was incompetent, rogue shareholders threatened, and opaque financing increased. The protagonist, Takechi Tadashi, a courageous mid-level employee who took responsibility, lived in such a tight spot, reluctantly acting as a pawn for the top management. He dealt with gangsters, investigated the asset transfers of shell companies, and constantly put out fires, only to find himself burning himself—being ignored, suspected, threatened, and harassed, and nearly being sent overseas. Fortunately, thanks to his integrity and competence, he made friends with generous and righteous financial heavyweights, and finally drove out the bank dictator, ushering in a period of peace and stability for the bank.