Global financial markets have seemingly nudged the government toward undertaking a move it would not have dared consider just one year ago -- suggesting that taxpayers' money be used to restore faith in the financial sector.
The same day Yamaichi Securities Co. succumbed to market pressures that made it nearly impossible for the brokerage to secure operating funds, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka voiced his resolve to seek "further policy measures" to secure market stability and protect clients at financial firms.
However, neither Mitsuzuka nor any other senior Finance Ministry official mentioned "public funds," a phrase that elicits unpleasant memories with taxpayers who were angered last year over the infusion of public money to help dissolve seven "jusen" housing lenders.