Ruling coalition politicians stood ready Tuesday to urge Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to abandon promised reforms and sidestep internationally recognized mark-to-market accounting rules.
Koizumi, however, came out against the suggestion. With the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average hitting its third consecutive 20-year low, politicians spent the day bandying short-term measures to boost stock prices by March 31, when most companies close their books.
Allowing companies to revert to book-value accounting is one step many believe will have the most immediate effect. Book value is the price at which shares are purchased. Adopting this would make Japanese companies immune to the current stock falls.