This study examines the effectiveness of bank recapitalization policies in Japan. Based on a reading of the "business revitalization plan" submitted by banks requesting government funds, we identify four primary goals for the capital injection plan in Japan: (1) to increase the bank capital...

The Japanese “Big Bang” financial deregulation started in 1996. The objective was to make the Japanese banking sector more “free, fair and global”, spurring competition and resulting in a more profitable and efficient financial sector. The Big Bang brought about a massive consolidation...

This study investigates the hypothesis that stricter capital adequacy requirements introduced under the Basel Accord caused Japanese banks to alter their portfolios away from heavily weighted risk assets such as loans and corporate bonds and into unweighted assets such as government bonds.Using...