Time for Japan to admit defeat

Watching his bank's stock price fall to record lows, Yoshifumi Nishikawa could not help but point the finger at Japan's government. 'The market is in an uncertain state because the content of the bank reform plan is unclear,' explained the president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, one of Japan's top four banks, the very ones fighting to avoid being nationalised. It is not that simple, of course. Nishikawa blames Tokyo's confusion over how to fix the banking system for his stock dive; the government blames him and his peers at Mizuho Holdings, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ Ho...