From 2006 until the first half of 2007, the most animated debate over capital markets in the US, the UK, and Japan has been over how to become more competitive as a global financial center. Also of interest, however, has been the progress achieved at various levels between the US and EU in...

In the process of overcoming its nonperforming loan woes, Japan instituted a variety of reforms related to traditional bank loans. These include correcting the lending market's over-reliance on real estate collateral and personal guarantees, and introducing ABL and credit score-based lending....

Ten years after its version of the financial quot;Big Bang,quot; quot;Japan is once again starting to debate ways to raise the competitiveness of the Tokyo market and create a global financial center to rival New York and London. Japan is likely to focus more on strengthening those elements...

Banks have traditionally played a major role in Japan's financial system, but lessons learned from the nonperforming loan problem highlighted the importance of expanding the role of securities markets. It is important, however, to not only expand the volume of securities markets, but also to...

Japan initiated a program of financial reforms in April 2005 that leaves the central role to market discipline while positing a financial administration that complements that discipline. The author summarizes the conditions required for market discipline to function and argues that attaining a...

In August 2005, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) requested the banks, securities brokerages, and insurance companies to conduct customer satisfaction surveys and publish the results. Some have opined that such a request by the financial authorities constitutes excessive intervention in...

Japan's Securities and Exchange Law covers a narrower range of financial products than is the case in the US and the UK, while the protection it provides investors has been inadequate. The Financial System Council is debating the introduction of the Investment Services Bill, a new law that would...