Japan's Mini Bank Rescue

Japan has finally thrown its ailing banks a rope but only a short one. Ever since the collapse of the bubble economy in 1990, Japan's banking regulators have insisted that no public money would go toward bailing out banks, which are reeling from an estimated $300 billion in bad debts. But on Dec. 9, the Bank of Japan grudgingly coughed up $200 million in capital for a rescue bank that will first absorb two Tokyo-based credit cooperatives teetering on the brink with a reported $200 million to $300 million in bad debts. Japan's Deposit Insurance Corp. will kick in $400 million, and big commercial banks will contribute $200 million.