Bankers once rode high as the elite of Japan. Along with top-notch bureaucrats in the Finance Ministry, they represented the best the Japanese education system had to offer.
Now, the public derides them as inefficient, incompetent and overpaid.
Their lending practices are blamed for causing the asset-inflated bubble and for the consequent slumping economy. Despite an infusion of public money, bad debts continue to rise at major banks, eating away at their ability to finance a recovery.