Print shop owner Yoichi Iwasaki let out a deep sigh of relief when he filed for court protection from creditors in April 2002, but little did he realize that was not the end of his troubles.
The action, taken under civil rehabilitation laws, cut his firm's debt by 80 percent while allowing it to keep running. It also freed Iwasaki from the nerve-racking, month-to-month pressure of trying to raise funds.
Iwasaki may have felt he was off the hook, but the buck was instead passed to his wife, his sister, her husband and one of his acquaintances who were joint guarantors for his debts.