In 1997, amid ongoing financial problems of Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto sought to restructure the financial sector to make it more transparent and competitive in the world market. He expressed the hope that this work, known as the "Big Bang" after the British financial restructuring of a decade ago, is successful. But financial problems, which seemed to have ceased, looked as if they might get worse. Thus, Hashimoto had to weigh priorities. Whether it should focus on the long-term restructuring, immediate financial assistance, or both? May over-emphasis on the long-term restructuring to increase the chances that the major banks could collapse? And what were the best economic and political strategies in these arenas? As one of the major developed economies, Japan offers analog challenges facing the United States in its 2008-09 financial crisis. "Hide
by Thierry Port, Rawi Abdelal, Laura Alfaro, Jonathan Schlefer Source: Harvard Business School 16 pages. Publication Date: 02 November 2009. Prod. #: 710037-PDF-ENG
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